100 Emails, 20 Dates An SF girl's systematic quest to end her singlehood

Two dudes review “Sex and the City 2″ and the anti-SATC apologist stance

I haven't seen Sex and the City 2. But this is a hilarious review of it by two straight dudes, from The Awl. Here's an excerpt:

Neel: I felt really sad to be American, or at least Indian-American, during this movie.
David: AGREE.
Neel: Did it make you uncomfortable?
David: It was weird that in a situation where you control everything that's happening, you would make your characters seem like such obnoxious Americans.
David: The kind that you see abroad, that make you be all like, "Ughhhhhh."
Neel: Basically watching these poor Arab dudes with waxed torsos parade around in service of these spoiled American hags?

OK, the use of "hags" is a bit over the top. But for me, this gets at the real ickiness of the SATC2 plot. I'm tired of reading all the SATC2 apologists saying male movie reviewers just don't get it, they don't like it because it's a female-led movie, and they just can't get through a single review without mentioning menopause. Doy--Samantha is going through menopause in the movie. So male reviewers aren't allowed to mention it? Are we going back to the 1950s where only women can talk about lady problems like that? WTH?

It's not the movie reviewers, people. It's (probably) the movie.

Here's my real beef: if SATC2 is really as bad as the reviews and basic elements of the plot (Exhibit 1: culturally insensitive trip to Abu Dhabi) indicate, then Michael Patrick King should be ashamed of himself for so brazenly squandering the devotion of all the SATC fans in order to cash in on a second round of box office receipts. I mean, we have spent YEARS getting to know these characters. We have watched them on (pay) cable. We have paid to rent or buy the series DVDs. We paid to see the first movie. And now, he delivers the equivalent of Rocky V as the first sequel. In producingt a movie that seems to celebrate so many of the characters' worst qualities, he has done the loyal SATC fans a huge disservice. We deserve better. The highest compliment I've heard anyone give this movie is that seeing it, with a huge group of girlfriends, was fun, but the movie was only fine.

Also, I have to agree with David and Neel: Miranda is an unlikable character. She did have brief moments in the series where her selfishness didn't eclipse all other elements of her personality--specifically, in letting down her guard and letting Steve into her life. I think we all cheered for her at that.