Aside from the fact that I am a young, sometimes frivolous, appreciative of fashion and beauty kind of woman, I also have a brain in my head. One that knew enough about what was going on in the "Sex and the City" sequel to not take it as gospel.
To begin with, the movie was what most "Sex and the City" fans would have expected: Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, bright colors and fun music in the fast paced environment of the Big Apple.
The sequel returns with issues of marriage and family this time. The institution is affirmed, by the opening sequence at a ridiculously opulent and somewhat stereotypical gay wedding in Connecticut.
The film's excessive draw to consumption and glitz was distasteful considering the recession we are in, but hey, it is fiction right? The fact that the ladies referred to the recession on several occasions brought me back down to reality and frowning upon all the glut.
As most of you can tell from the previews (if you haven't seen the film), the ladies have a little adventure to "...a land, a far away place, where the caravan camels roam, where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense... dah dah dah... Come on down, stop on by, hop a carpet and fly to another Arabian night!" Sorry, I couldn't help it.
Back to the movie. Initially, at a film premier, a Sheik offers Samantha a carte blanche visit to Abu Dhabi in asking her to publicize his new hotel. Of course, Samantha accepts (I mean why would she not?) and clearly managed to get all her girls invited too. She reminds them that it is now the "New" Middle East. Which I am assuming is what persuaded them to pack up their Louboutins and take the first private jet out (okay the Sheik's private jet, same thing.)
Girls gone wild, the Middle Eastern chapter. Eek!
That reminds me, why was Abu Dhabi constantly referred to as the "Middle East"? Might I add, with inspiration from the wise Edward Said, the middle of who's east?
The movie was shot in Morocco and had fantastical views that could have fallen straight from Disney's "Aladdin." Also, keeping it ambiguous must have helped keep "SATC" fans on the same page. After all, had they not said they were going to the Middle East, I am sure most would have experienced brain seizures trying to figure out where Abu Dhabi is.
Being part Arab myself, I found the "Middle Eastern" portion of the movie to be the most interesting. For once, the storyline moved from New York and its surrounding area, and we got a glimpse of how sex is in other cities. And apparently, unlike the weather, in Abu Dhabi it's not so hot. But of course, it took Samantha and her complete indiscretion to find that one out.
As I mentioned above, being Arab myself, I am fluent in Arabic. But apparently whoever helped the girls learn new Arabic words was not. I found it comical that in this day and age, movies can pass with such inaccuracies. Aside from the Arabic mistakes, the girls walked by a slew of hot soccer players in the hotel lobby and the hotel manager informed them that they were in Abu Dhabi for World Cup tryouts. Had my soccer fanatic husband not been next to me I would probably have not caught that one, but alas, he yelped "There are no tryouts for the World Cup." And by this he meant, games are played to determine the finalists who will then play in the World Cup. These games are played all over the world, as opposed to all the teams arriving in one location for "tryouts."
Moreover, in an embarrassing scene of classless vulgarity, Samantha gives the Arab world and its customs the finger as she flings condoms and screams "YES, I HAVE SEX."
The writers attempt to take back their cultural insensitivity by having women clad in the most extreme Islamic garb save the girls from the angry Arab men, and reveal that beneath their black robes they too appreciate Dior's latest trends (which is what ultimately makes them human, right?).
After all the dramatic endeavors, the girls ended up choosing freedom over the opulent life of being sponsored by a Sheik in an oil wealthy country that doesn't appreciate public displays of affection and excessively flesh revealing clothing.
What I can say positively is that the film attempted to be timely in mentioning the World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa this week and taking advantage of the topic of the day (due to the presence of American troops in the area). They also tried to looked at various cultural elements of the region (as biased as they may have seemed).
Ultimately, in my opinion, the film would serve great for an uplifting "cute dress" type of outing, but if you are looking for a deep look at relevant cultural issues, pick another movie.
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