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Written by Gregg Shapiro
Jun 3, 2010
“Sex and the City 2.” – Photo: Courtesy
“Sex and the City 2”
(New Line)
The most anticipated sequel of the summer (sorry “Iron Man” and “Shrek”), “Sex and the City 2” is also the gayest straight movie of the season. But at more than 2 hours and 20 minutes, it’s much too long.
“SATC2” attempts to trump its predecessor on a variety of levels, beginning with the gay wedding, followed by the exotic locale, the nice mix of comedy and drama and the hard-won resolution. Of course, it doesn’t have to try very hard to be better than the first. And yet, it still comes up shorter than some of the skirts worn by the film’s leading characters.
The film gets rolling with a brief flashback sequence commemorating writer Carrie Bradshaw Preston’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) nearly 25 years in NYC and how she met gal pals Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (out actress Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall). Then on to the present day, with the fab four all aflutter about the upcoming same-sex nuptials of Carrie’s best gay friend Stanford (Willie Garson) and Charlotte’s best gay friend Anthony (out actor Mario Cantone). With a gay men’s chorus providing ambient music and Liza Minnelli officiating and providing the entertainment (her “Single Ladies” is almost a showstopper), the gay gauntlet is thrown down.
Trials and tribulations abound in these women’s lives. Carrie’s marriage to “Big” (Chris Noth) is on the verge of a rocky phase. Charlotte’s young daughters are more than she bargained for and busty, bra-less nanny Erin (Alice Eve) is perceived as a threat to her marriage to Harry (Evan Handler).
After being mistreated and disrespected by her new boss at the law firm, legal eagle Miranda quits her job. Meanwhile, slutty Samantha is still sexually overactive. And the Middle Eastern producers of the latest movie with her discovery (and ex) Smith (Jason Lewis) offer Samantha and her friends an all-expense-paid trip to Abu Dhabi.
For this portion of the movie, “SATC2” turns into a travelogue cum love letter to the United Arab Emirates. But leave it to these gold-plated girls to shake (or should that be sheikh) things up a bit with more tasteless behavior than you’d think a movie could contain. The humor is as dry as the Moroccan desert (where much of it was filmed) and blander than anything you’d ever find in a spice market. Rest assured, however, that a slightly fractured fairy tale ending awaits those willing to sit (or squirm) through it.
As of this writing, advance ticket sales are through the roof, doubtlessly owing much to gay men and their close, straight female friends, who somehow find redeeming value in these tired, cardboard characters.
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
(Disney)
Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t spend nearly enough time shirtless as the titular character Dastan to justify you spending any time on this big-screen adaptation of, ugh, a video game.
An orphan born in the slums of Nasaf, Dastan (Gyllenhaal) is adopted by a Persian king and raised alongside his sons Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell). Following the unnecessary raid on holy city Alamut and the capture of its princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) and a sacred dagger, the king dies under mysterious circumstances and Dastan is blamed. He and Tamina make a narrow escape, along with the dagger.
Come to find out, when the dagger’s handle is packed with the magical Sands of Time, it can turn back clocks like nobody’s business. Which is why the king’s evil brother Nazim (Ben Kingsley), uncle to Tus, Garsiv and Dastan, is so eager to get his hateful hands on it. And with the assistance of the ninja-like Hassansins, his dastardly plot has a good chance of succeeding.
Thank goodness, Alfred Molina turns up as cut-throat but comical Sheikh Amar, for a bit of the old comic relief.
