Fridae

We never wanted Sex and the City to stop even if HBO’s writers felt the storyline had run its natural course. The television series wasn’t just about the barrage of lewd jokes coming from Samantha Jones or the many dating adventures of her equally libertine galfriends – an entire generation of television viewers aligned their pop cultural compasses to SATC and mapped their consumption patterns to brands and fashions set by the show’s writers.

In a way, Sex and the City is an ideal product placement vehicle compared to say, the James Bond franchise. Bond is limited to a small number of automobile, cellphone, timepiece and fashion endorsements, but one never complains that Sex and the City has too many product placements. In fact, one expects even more.

In this instalment of Sex and the City, the product placements seem to come from all angles and averages at least one every five minutes. All manners of accessories and fashionable wear for men and women, food fads, new age health supplements, the latest in home entertainment, and even holiday destinations like Abu Dhabi. Yes, you heard right – the swanky city of Abu Dhabi gets a huge in-your-face endorsement that lasts half the movie. And you thought Singapore got a good deal out of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy?

Anyway, Sex and the City 2 plays like two hour-long episodes from its television series joined together. Beginning in New York City, the principal cast of the series reunite with the story focussing on everyone’s adjustments to married life, aside from Samantha, who is still happily swinging single. In the second half, the four women are whisked off on an all expenses paid vacation to Abu Dhabi (Morocco was chosen for the location shooting) for an escapist weekend, encountering amongst other things, a speedo-clad Australian rugby team, old flames, and new flings.

Sex and the City 2 is great fun and delivers all the necessary entertainment and laughs you can expect from its writing team. The hell-raising antics and crude jokes are comparable to what we got in the series. And while you’re entertained, you could definitely play the product placement drinking game here – with a generous supply of Cosmopolitan cocktails, of course.