The announcement of the Sex and the City revival known as And Just Like That… has excited more than a few fans, since it gives Carrie Bradshaw and her friends another go at a complete ending. For many others, it’s also due to the relatively lackluster reputation of Sex and the City 2, which that wasn’t met with very good reviews.
The movie saw the women head over to Abu Dhabi, where each of them took some distance from their personal problems. While the movie did well at the box office and has its fair share of fans, there are also aspects that haven’t aged well due to the changing landscape of the world and expectations from the movie industry.
Aged Well: The Idea Of Giving Romantic Partners Their Own Space
Big and Carrie’s marriage becomes too predictable by Sex and the City 2, and the two realize they have more romantic tendencies after some time apart. This has become more relevant since the film’s release as many couples do feel that giving one another space can be healthy.
The movie showed that the pair put better effort into their relationship after a little time to themselves made them appreciate their spouse. While Big understood Carrie craved romance, she accepted that Big wanted their marriage to be comfortable. This idea comes across as a legitimate way for couples to keep their romance alive while also leaving room for their personal wants and needs.
Hasn't Aged Well: The Excessively Long Runtime
At 146 minutes, Sex and the City 2 has a gargantuan runtime, with barely any other romantic comedy movies featuring the same length. Nowadays, rom coms tend to be around 90 minutes, making this film seem bloated in comparison.
In addition, watching the section of the movie set in the US comes across as a drag compared to the rest of the story in Abu Dhabi, as that’s where the main plot kicks off. Viewers have become accustomed to shorter length rom coms, and watching Carrie and her friends go through their problems without doing much about them in the first half is highly skippable in repeated viewings.
Aged Well: The Legitimate Problem Of Miranda's Job
The second movie treated Miranda’s job as a real issue, as her boss very well qualified as a Sex and the City villain with his misogynistic attitude. Miranda spent the story fretting over this and ended up quitting to join a diverse firm.
With female characters taking on bigger roles since the film’s release, Miranda’s issue feels like a legitimate issue that many can identify with. It also stands out as the one point that doesn’t feel tack-on for story purposes as the situation was handled with care.
Hasn't Aged Well: Samantha's Lack Of Character Development
Samantha won’t be returning for the revival series, and it’s understandable if her role in this film is taken into account. At the time, the sequel followed only a couple of years after the first movie, meaning Samantha’s U-turn from giving love a chance didn’t seem as much of a big deal.
However, considering it’s the last time she showed up, her total lack of development and one-note role of chasing hedonistic desires just doesn’t have any impact anymore. It also doesn’t have that comedic quality the film was going for either since Samantha had been seen for several years and the movie diminished her previous progress.
Aged Well: The Happy Ending
While the TV series and first film also ended on a happy note, the second movie seemed to be the final outing for the characters. Due to this, the happy ending feels doubly special since everyone got what they wanted.
If the revival wasn’t commissioned, fans could be content with the knowledge that Charlotte was doing well as a mother, Miranda had a better job, and that Carrie worked out her issues with Big, while the friends remained together.
Hasn't Aged Well: Carrie Solving The Supporting Characters' Problems
Carrie was never the kind of person who took special steps to be selfless, and the second movie’s attempt at showing her this way with the "manservant" Gaurau doesn’t feel genuine. The white savior trope has been identified as an issue in the years since the film’s release, and Carrie does come across this way here.
Carrie was shown paying for Gaurau’s trip back to India due to him supposedly being underpaid, which was both an out-of-character move and seems like an attempt at giving her redemptive qualities.
Aged Well: The Simplistic Plot With Less Drama
All things considered, the sequel is easily the breeziest story for the series. Where there were previously bad breakups shown in Sex and the City, this entry had none of that. Instead, it’s a simplistic story about friends taking a vacation in another country.
Samantha’s story was all about trying and failing to get together with a new lover, while Miranda and Charlotte’s problems were easy enough for them to be solved by the movie’s end. Even Carrie’s story wasn’t as big a deal, making Sex and the City 2 an easy watch despite the runtime as fans have a guaranteed happy ending along with no need to be emotionally involved.
Hasn't Aged Well: The Portrayal Of The Middle East
Respecting cultural and religious practices is of the utmost importance, with this now actively being incorporated within movies. Due to this, Sex and the City 2 has aged very badly with its portrayal of the Middle East, as Carrie and her friends were shown judging cultural norms of Abu Dhabi and expecting their behavior to be considered valid.
The characters of the local population were also shown in an extremely stereotypical fashion, which is something that wouldn’t fly today. Considering it was Carrie’s group violating the rules of the country they were visiting, watching the movie now makes them appear in the wrong.
Aged Well: Big's Romantic Gesture In The Ending
There have been plenty of romantic Sex and the City moments, but the second movie’s ending has aged well due to it being a reflection of Carrie’s character. Here, Big gave her a black engagement ring, claiming he presented her with it since Carrie wasn’t like anyone else and was unique to him.
With more than a decade separating the revival and this film, this was a great parting shot for Carrie since it made clear that she wasn’t the cookie-cutter protagonist most rom coms have, and that this was a way for viewers to understand why Big saw her in a different way than others did.
Hasn't Aged Well: Carrie's Lack Of Consequences For Being Unfaithful
There were a number of secrets Carrie kept in Sex and the City, and the biggest was her affair with Big while still seeing Aidan. Fans nowadays are keen toward characters accepting responsibility and seeing the consequences of wrong actions, but Carrie didn’t get much of hers in the movie.
This time around, she cheated on Big with Aidan by kissing the latter in Abu Dhabi. Barring a brief period of the silent treatment from Big, Carrie didn’t really pay the price for this unfaithfulness. Fans have seen Carrie as a rather self-centered character over the years, and her getting away with such an act hasn’t aged well since she got what she wanted regardless of kissing another man.