The Sex and the City franchise’s pop-cultural touchstone status has turned once reasonable and articulate film critics into braying, hysterical gasbags. Are screechingly hostile reviews like that of The Stranger’s Lindy West or the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert necessary? Why not calm down and write up the movie as it is: a terrible romantic comedy and a poor entry into the series. But what else is to be said of this silly, cynical, insightful, insipid, shallow yet perceptive movie and TV series? Because the SatC brand is so pervasive, it is almost impossible to avoid intellectually engaging with the topics it represents. Average movie-goers can be transformed into feminist sociologists, fashion historians, sex educators and cultural critics. Yes, SATC2 is a terrible movie, but people are discussing what it’s all about. Why not match the audience’s well-informed opinions with your own.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2010.