SATC 2

I can't believe I'm just finally getting around to posting this, but I have been so busy lately with weekend trips, visitors, work, paperwork, etc that I just haven't found the time.

My friends and I were so excited about Sex and the City 2 coming out that we rushed out to see it the day it came out in France...June 2.  We decided to suffer miserable days at work on Thursday so that we could all meet up after our very long Wednesdays and see a late show at Les Halles.  We met up before the film and grabbed dinner, then drank sparkling wine out of cans before the movie started to celebrate the fact that the second film was finally out.

After dinner and our drink (by the way, sparkling wine in a can is REALLY, REALLY bad) we headed into the depths of Les Halles to see the film, surrounded by a huge crowd of annoying French people.  Of course, they wouldn't let us into the cinema until 5 minutes before the movie started so we were all standing around in a "line" (think the French definition of a line).  When the let us in people were pushing and shoving each other as we headed along like a herd of cattle, but we finally managed to get in alive and get seats.

Of course, all those annoying French people were so excited to see the film (why couldn't they just have gone to see it in VF!!!) that they were screaming and shouting and clapping and whistling like crazy people throughout the whole film, which was quite irritating for those of us who actually wanted to hear the dialogue, rather than read it in the subtitles.  But overall, it was an enjoyable experience and I really enjoyed the film, despite the many negative reviews it has received.

That said, while I did enjoy the film, meaning I thought it was hilarious and I laughed a lot, it also shocked me quite a bit.  I know I laughed with the rest of them at all the jokes based on Middle Eastern/Islamic culture, but I was also shocked they took it as far as they did.  I felt like they were truly insulting an entire culture and just reinforcing many of the negative stereotypes that exist towards this culture in the Western world.  I felt they could have used this as an opportunity to try to spread cultural awareness and understanding, or at least they could have avoided the trip to the Middle East altogether and sent the girls somewhere else instead.  All I can say is I was really surprised, though this is a hypocritcal statement since I was shocked but I also found it hilarious.

The film also made me think a lot about Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and his desire to ban the burka, niqab, and other such Islamic veils in France.  I know, it's strange to think about Sarkozy when watching a funny chick flick, but during the scene with the woman wearing a full length veil trying to eat french fries, all I could think of what Sarkozy would say and if he could somehow use this film to illustrate his point.

All in all it was a good night and definitely worth the absolutely miserable Thursday I had after having gotten home at 1:15 am.  I thought the film, while not as good plot-wise as the TV series or the previous film, was hilarious and very entertaining.  It was the perfect opportunity to forget about the stresses of my life for two and a half hours and to just have fun watching the wild escapades of these four great friends in another culture.