SEX AND THE CITY 2 (R)

Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth

Director: Michael Patrick King

There are movies, and then there are your highly anticipated movies, like Sex And The City 2.

Highly anticipated, at least, among that segment of the population that regards shoe shopping as a religious experience. And there I was, knowing full well that I was marching straight into the den of CHICK FLICK-DOM, but willing to make that sacrifice just to bring you this review!

And it weren't an unpleasant ride at all.

New Yorkers Carrie, (Sarah Jessica Parker) Samantha, (Kim Cattrall) Charlotte, (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) are back to demonstrate that friendship lasts through thick and thin, ( mostly thick for them) one for all and all for one--I am woman hear me roar! They're all married now, except for Samantha, who always was and always will be the skanky (but well-dressed) sexual spark plug that drives the action forward.

Through her "connections," Samantha wangles an all expense paid trip to Abu Dhabi for the four of them. This comes just in time for Carrie, who's afraid her marriage with Mister Big (Chris Noth) may be losing its "sparkle," and she could use some time to ruminate on it--and for Charlotte, who's about to go off the deep end under the stress and strain of motherhood.

Upon arrival, it's the four liberated material girls from America in a culture clash with repressive middle-eastern mores. True to form, Samantha flaunts her sexuality, as if she can't be bothered to remember she's in a region where public displays of affection are a big no-no, and gets busted for getting too amorous with a dude on the beach. All this "cramping her style" leads to Samantha eventually throwing it back in their faces with an irreverent, wickedly hilarious display of public vulgarity and impudence not witnessed since Marlon Brando dropped his pants in the dance hall scene near the end of Last Tango In Paris.

Subplots involve Carrie running into an old flame in an Abu Dhabi marketplace--tempting fate and her loyalty to Mr. Big--and Charlotte obsessing over hubby being left alone with the kids and their big-busted nanny. Miranda seems pretty much along for the ride in this one--unfortunate, because the only thing I seem to remember from the first film was her torrid lovemaking scene and how (surprisingly) hot her body still was!

GUY ALERT! GUY ALERT! Maybe it's due to the limitations of a plot where everybody but Samantha is in a relationship, so they're not going to be fooling around much--or maybe it's because in real life our four gals are just slightly past their "sell by" dates, (to varying degrees) and shedding their duds might be less titillating than embarrassing, but Sex And The City 2 is surprisingly stingy in the skin department. Even Samantha's obligatory bedroom romps are uncharacteristically unrevealing. There is, however, a nice wet T-shirt shot of the aforementioned nanny to lift your spirits some. Not as disappointing for the girls, though, with a bevy of hunky shirtless dudes, a bare bottom, etc. (I never seem to notice how gratuitous the nudity in most movies is when it's the ladies who are flaunting it!)

A lavish gay wedding at the beginning of the film--replete with Liza Minelli presiding (who now looks like a Saturday Night Live caricature of herself--or maybe her mother) was romantic, musically captivating, and just quirky enough to hook me in for the duration.

So all in all, I found Sex And The City 2 to be kind of a hoot.

GRADE : B