Sex and the City 2

There the Prosecco corks pop: Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha are back! After the first theatrical release of the hit TV series "Sex and the City" grossed over $400 million worldwide, the four ladies now get to once again throw on countless designer outfits to thrill millions of fans with a second feature film.

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) have been married for two years now. And so slowly, the magic seems to be fading. Instead of sparkling dates and passionate declarations of love, it's food from the delivery service and TV in bed. But Carrie's friends also have their problems: Samantha (Kim Cattrall) just won't come to terms with the fact that her 50-year-old body no longer wants what she wants. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is suffering at the hands of her new boss, who clearly has a problem with strong women. And Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has extremely thin nerves after weeks of constant crying from her youngest daughter. The fact that her Irish nanny is a great help, but her aversion to bras seems a little too intriguing to Charlotte's husband Harry doesn't really help.

When Samantha receives an offer to travel to Abu Dhabi with her friends and reside in a luxury hotel after a movie premiere, the ladies don't take much notice: they take time out from their New York routines and really indulge themselves in the exotic faraway place. But the foreign culture causes many a faux pas, and Carrie's unexpected reunion with an old love makes the trip away a real test of endurance for her marriage to Mr. Big.

"Sex and the City 2" is superior to its predecessor in many ways, but at the same time, unfortunately, still makes the same mistakes as the first feature film. On a positive note, the new film, unlike its predecessor, tells a much more straightforward story. Part 1 still seemed like a somewhat overloaded montage of individual episodes, so here a clearer line can be discerned. In addition, director Michael Patrick King has obviously made an effort to give the fans of the series a few really nice gifts, for example, by the brief return of James Corbett alias Aidan Shaw in the "Sex and the City" universe. The myriad costumes and indulgent set will also send fans into raptures.

What sets the film apart from the series, however, like its predecessor already, is the nature of the humor. If this was still provocative, subversive and sometimes very self-deprecating in the series, the feature films rely much more on platitudinous gags and well-behaved sex jokes. Especially the handling of the culture crash in Abu Dhabi is almost annoyingly incredibly flat and clichéd, in two scenes even downright silly. It does become clear in some moments what Michael Patrick King intended and that there is actually a lot of self-irony to be found here beneath the flat surface. But the director just didn't succeed in the realization. He confirms in his on the one hand very overdone, on the other hand especially compared to the series much too well-behaved way actually only all the clichés of other cultures towards completely ignorant, stupid Americans.

However, there are also quite a few moments that can be considered successful and capture the spirit of the series very well. Such as a wonderful conversation between Charlotte and Miranda about the difficulties of being a mother. Or a great extravagant gay wedding at the beginning of the movie (and the first big surprise concerning the bride and groom). Also, the husbands' reaction to Charlotte's nanny Erin is just delicious. But what really makes the film work is the sense of some honesty regarding the relationship between Mr. Big and Carrie. This relationship has defined the series like no other, and it came to a very big climax in the first film with their wedding. It was always clear that this love is something very special, a love that doesn't play by the known rules.

And yet, Carrie and Mr. Big also face the normal everyday problems of any couple. How they deal with it is drawn very nicely, very honestly and above all comprehensible for all viewers - even if (or just because) the two live according to their very own rules. Here it becomes clear again what the great strength of the series was: as exaggerated as some aspects were, when it came to real humanity, whether friendship or love, "Sex and the City" always found the right tone and thus spoke to the viewers from the soul.

Bottom line, it can be said that "Sex and the City 2" will certainly satisfy most fans. However, the series will not gain new followers as a result. It would only be desirable, should the ladies still be able to get together for a third film, if Michael Patrick King would then succeed in bringing not only the heart of the series, but also the humor back to the level so appreciated in the cinema.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp