Sex And The City 2: Bigger Is Not Better

As a disclaimer, I have a huge amount of love and respect for the meaning and soapy spirit behind SEX AND THE CITY.  Since its debut in 1998, I have been along for the ride focusing on these four inspiring and diverse women and their struggles.  The show itself successfully walked a tightrope balancing portrayals of women who had high self-esteem without being narcissistic; were hopeful without being naive, displayed ambition without desperation.  Underlying all the women's quirks were continuing stories of hope, resilience, female empowerment, and love for the City of New York.

I am sorry to say that all of these wonderful factors get lost in the new film Sex and the City 2, now playing at an air-conditioned theater near you.  Before seeing it I had read the reviews out there and thought, "Nah, it can't be that bad.  The movie is just being criticized because it portrays 40something women and gay men so positively."  Oops, wrong, it is that bad, and here is why:

-New York City, the proverbial "fifth character" throughout the entire series, is absent for nearly all of the film.  The show was a virtual love letter to Manhattan, and this was especially poignant in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.  The brutal and inexplicably abandoning of the show's backdrop makes no sense, and does nothing to help the limited story.
-Carrie (Sarah Jesssica Parker), the proverbial "main character" is turned into an ungrateful, whiny, selfish, cruel shrew.  Her antagonism and hostility toward Big (Christopher Noth) would be plausible if we hadn't seen her pine after him the past 12 years, or if he had actually done something wrong.  Instead the poor lug is raked over the coals for wanting to watch old movies in bed after working hard all day.  Really?

 -All the characters appear to have been virtually untouched by the recession of the last two years.  The series successfully demonstrated that these women lived in a privileged world on the Upper East Side that represented a small socio-economic community.  But nobody is spending this kind of money thoughtlessly anymore, not even the "Big's" of New York.  The discrepancy between their flagrant consumerism and the reality of that microcosm is blatantly glaring.
-The intelligent discussions and witty repartee the ladies engaged in during the series are also nearly absent.  Instead of drawing insights into the complicated world of relationships, they are distracted by planes, cars, and shiny shoes in Abu Dhabi. 
-The values of the series were always not-so-subtlely rooted in classism and white superiority.  People of color were rarely featured in the New York represented, except as waiters, secretaries, or taxi drivers.  But the movie demonstrates an unprecedented level of intolerance and hatred for Middle Easterners. The aggressive pro-American attitude leads to an unintentionally disgusting scene involving Samantha toward the end.  Does anyone find intolerance and cultural superiority amusing or entertaining?

All in all the movie is a disappointing, soulless mess.  It has a mean-spirited message that betrays both the core audience, and the characters that we have come to love.  My advice is to save yourself time and money by staying home and watching the DVD episodes, while praying that the inevitable third installment in the movie franchise will bring back the spiritual vitality, emotional gravity, and cultural relevance of the beloved series. 

What about you, We Love Soaps readers? Was Sex good for you this second time?

Damon L. Jacobs is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist seeing individuals and couples in New York City at Mental Health Counseling & Marriage And Family Therapy Of New York.   He is also the author of "Absolutely Should-less: The Secret to Living the Stress-Free Life You Deserve.