"Sex and the City 2" not as hot as the first

What began as a groundbreaking HBO series that featured hot women talking unabashedly about sex has now become a franchise. The latest installment, Sex and the City 2, follows a film released in 2008 and a seven-season television series.

The film picks up where the first left off and continues to answer the question: “What happens after ‘happily ever after’?” For narrator Carried Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), it is how to adjust to married life with Big (Chris Noth). While she craves the parties and the “sparkle” of going out, Big prefers the couch and the television.

Charlotte (Kristin Davis) deals with the stress of being a housewife with two rambunctious daughters. She frets about Harry’s potential attraction to their nanny whose breasts are always bouncing around in their bra-less glory.

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) worries that her career is affecting her family life and feels less than inspired to continue at a firm where her boss hates her. Unsurprisingly, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) continues to deny her own problem: aging. With enough pills and “not really approved by the FDA” supplements, Samantha attempts to trick her body into thinking it’s younger than it really is.

In the middle of dealing with these problems, the girls decide to fly to Abu Dhabi for an all-expense paid vacation. While the TV series featured the girls wreaking havoc among the single (and not so single) men of New York, the writers now have the quartet flying to the other side of the world for adventure. Perhaps they’ve finally hit a dead-end?

The film is comprised of girl-power karaoke, crazy fashion (and headwear), cameos by Liza Minnelli and teen queen Miley Cyrus, and a few sexcapades to round it out. Don’t expect this sequel to be quite as solid as the first, though

While the original divided the focus fairly evenly between the four women, this new film puts all the focus on Carrie. While the other three’s problems are addressed, the solutions are summed up in a few-sentence voiceover at the end. And with Cattrall being the leading comedic force in the film, that’s quite a shame.

Additionally, there are some aspects of the plot that are less than desirable. The handling of the opening gay wedding sequence as well as some “lost in translation” cultural issues during the trip to Abu Dhabi are occasionally tactless. At some points, viewers might wish for fewer attempts at poignant relationship advice and more penis jokes.

If you’re looking for fun fashion, exotic landscapes, and a mindless chick flick, Sex and the City 2 is sure to please. But don’t enter the theater hoping for more than that, because underneath the sequins and tulle, there’s not much there.

—Christina Warner, Managing Editor