Number Rolled: 24
Movie Name/Year: Sex
and the City/Sex and the City 2 (I rolled the latter, but felt uncomfortable
writing a review on the second one without at least touching on the first)
2008/2010
Genre: Comedy
Length: 145
minutes/146 minutes
Rating: NR/R
Director: Michael
Patrick King
Writer: Michael
Patrick King, Candace Bushnell, Darren Star
Actors: Sarah
Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Willie Garson,
Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Lynn Cohen, Evan Handler, Chris Noth, Jason
Lewis
People who know me well in person might be surprised to
learn that I am actually a huge fan of Sex and the City. After all, I don’t
subscribe to the wacky fashions or the fancy red-carpet life. I’d choose a day
of gaming or watching movies in sweats over any restaurant opening. But as a
young aspiring writer who had delved head first into her romantic life (making
many wrong choices along the way – both as the wronged and the one doing the
wronging), a lot of the storylines have rung true.
The first movie always brought me to tears. It was
interesting and thought provoking without being unrealistic. Would the events
of the movie have been commonplace? No, but still possible. Even the conversations
were realistic enough to pass. The second movie, however, was mediocre at best.
It was filled to the brim with terrible puns. It took intense worries from real
life and fueled them with unrealistic conversations and responses. Those side
storylines of Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte were deep, meaningful issues that
were showed in a ridiculous light that made them look fake. The main storyline,
however, they got right on.
We all have the one who got away. No matter how happy you
are with your significant other, you have that “what if” man/woman. Maybe that
person didn’t exist for you after you graduated high school, but the moment you
see them, you still get that question in the back of your mind, “what would
have happened?” Carrie is thrown into that situation when she runs into Aidan
in Abu Dhabi (of all places). A minor issue in her marriage sends her back to
that inevitable question that we all are so familiar with.
As the storyline goes, Carrie makes a mistake and is forced
to face who she is, who she was and who she wants to become. She makes a
startling realization.
I understand that feeling deep inside that she notes. That
feeling that you both miss and hate who you once were. I’ve been there. I am
there. I was that girl who was up for anything, always with a drink in one hand
and a big glass of drama in the other. I like to think that I started changing
a few years back when I went back to college, but those closest to me know
that’s not true. I was trying, but didn’t care enough to try too hard. Then the
pains started.
My lifestyle had become the cause of some severe health
problems. Issues with my spleen and liver kept me from being able to get up for
days at a time, even so much as to sit at my computer. A wrong choice in guys
kept me from having the confidence I needed to take action to better my
situation. It was during that time that I really began to like Sex and the
City.
It took a lot to pull myself up once I had hit that stage.
There was a point where I became suicidal. I was a product of my situation, the
one I had put myself in – however unintentionally. Therapy was a good start,
finding an amazing guy helped even more and together they led me to a little
game store on East 15th and Kings Highway in Brooklyn, “Kings Games.”
This place became my safe haven and in a great many ways, my savior. I found
every reason possible to go there. I learned to play games I might have never
taken an interest in just so I could find another reason to go. I met people
who helped to pull me out of my shell. People who don’t know me nearly as well
as some of my closest friends and have no idea that they became my guardian
angels. It was a secondary therapy. I have no doubt that I would not be where I
am now without them and that little game shop where I go to lose at Magic: the
Gathering and Heroclix every chance I get. I thank the owner and all those
people with all my heart. Even if it is mostly in private.
Sex and the City, at its heart, is simply a story about a
woman who’s trying to find her way. It would be the same story if the sex was
taken out and just left with the romance, but there would only be half as many
viewers. In this movie, I think the creators forgot that there was supposed to
be a deeper meaning in certain parts. It’s a shame, because the potential this
movie had was limitless.
In the end, though, the moral was apparent. I learned my
lesson a while back. Going through a much different travel to be happy where I am,
and with who I will become and who I am. Sometimes, it’s still a little
strange. Sometimes it still feels like I’m in a dream and I’m afraid to wake
up.
For those who enjoy the series, it’s worth a watch – but
only if you enjoy the series. There’s nothing there for those on the outside.
I would like to say this, though. It was very nice to see
the Middle East portrayed in a light that wasn’t violent. The movie highlighted
many beautiful points of the area and even delved a bit into culture without
making it seem horrible, as many movies do now-a-days.
Overall Opinion – Sex and
the City 1 - 4/5
Overall Opinion – Sex and
the City 2 - 2/5
