SEX AND THE CITY 2

SEX AND THE CITY 2 (2010). Writer/director: Michael Patrick King.

While the first Sex and the City movie was pretty good, this disappointing sequel is more problematic. For one thing, at over two and half hours long it seems to go on forever. Second, there's no real plot to speak of, except that each of the women seem to be undergoing a kind of minor crisis. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is afraid her marriage with "Big" is going stale; Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has trouble dealing with the stress of motherhood; Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is under-valued by her male boss; and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is on a steady hormone diet to keep her body as youthful as possible. Then the movie throws in a long sequence in which the gals travel on a junket to the mid-eastern city of Abu Dhabi, and Sex and the City 2 almost turns into a travelogue or tourism short. However, there are some good scenes, including the ladies singing "I am Woman" during karaoke night at an Abu Dhabi night club, and the whole business with Samantha taking on the sexual oppressiveness and sexism of the middle east has some punch to it. Alas, with its gay wedding full of "fag" stereotypes -- and even Liza Minelli! -- the movie seems backward even as it's trying to be hip; in Sex and the City gay men are always depicted as swishy throw backs who exist solely to hold their girlfriends hands and do their hair! Sex in the City 2 is very well-acted by all, but it's only sporadically entertaining and often tedious.

Verdict: Maybe these gals should just retire.

SEX AND THE CITY -- THE MOVIE

SEX AND THE CITY -- THE MOVIE (2008). Director/writer: Michael Patrick King.

Five years have gone by since the series ended and all four of the women are either married or in relationships. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth) decide to get married, but Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) discovers her husband has been unfaithful, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is antsy keeping it monogamous with her hunky boyfriend, and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is afraid something dreadful will happen when she discovers that against all odds she's pregnant. Then something devastating happens on her wedding day, and Carrie needs her friends more than ever. The plot itself may be slight, but the movie is certainly not uneventful, and despite its length it's never boring. The film has warmth, honest sentiment, wit, humor and its trademark frankness in equal measure, and if it has a theme it's assuredly the importance of friendship. Of course, some of the movie -- as with the series -- must be taken with a grain of salt. Carrie calls for a cab from the third step of her brownstone stoop and one immediately comes to a halt right in front of her. Sure -- that always happens in New York! And Samatha, while still a hot babe on her 50th birthday [the great-looking Cattrall was actually 52 when she made the movie], gives up a relationship with a handsome younger man who loves her at a age when many women fear [rightfully or not] that they'll have trouble attracting men at all.

Still, the movie is a lot of fun.

NOTE: To read a write-up on the series itself, click here and scroll down a bit.

Verdict: This modern take on an old-fashioned "women's picture" really works for the most part. ***1/2.