NY's foursome return for more Sex and the City

Perhaps the hottest and most controversial television series finally returns to the big screen with the long awaited sequel, Sex and the City 2. After the smashing success of the series and the first movie, Sex and the City 2 brings back the fun, the fashion and the friendship of four of the world’s widely known and loved female characters, Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, Miranda Hobbes and Samantha Jones.

The sequel opens with the characteristic narration of Carrie as the girls get together to catch up on their busy lives. Charlotte finally gave birth to her daughter Rose, Miranda and Steve reunited at the Brooklyn bridge to give their marriage another shot, Samantha broke up with Smith and moved back to New York, and of course, Carrie said “I do” to her love, John Preston, best known as Mr. Big. While all four try to keep the façade that everything is fine, the truth of the matter is that all four of them have found themselves stuck between the traditional roles brought about by marriage, motherhood, career and menopause. As the girls contemplate their future and look for a bit of a sparkle to their otherwise routine lives, an unexpected adventure comes their way as they are whisked off to what is dubbed as one of the most luxurious and exotic places on earth, “the new Middle East”, Abu Dhabi.

“Men, babies – doesn’t matter. We’re soulmates.”

This line by Samantha sums it all up. Together they’ve weathered all sorts of storms and have stood by each other through thick and thin. Speculations were abuzz that the girls didn’t get along, but the four were quick to squash the rumors. "It hasn't always been smooth-sailing, but the idea that we're somehow adversarial is ludicrous, " Nixon said.

The movie is directed by Michael Patrick King who has been at the helm of the phenomenal series since its inception. King likewise wrote the screenplay and produced the film alongside Sarah Jessica Parker. While writing the screenplay, it dawned on the director that the film should focus on how these four very different friends transition from the very diverse individuals they were to women boxed in the traditions their new roles have taken them.

Reprising her role as the former quintessential single girl Carrie Bradshaw, now Mrs. John Preston, is the veteran actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who described coming back to play the role as a “very moving and truly thrilling to be part of” a series loved by fans since its heyday. She is also one of the longstanding producers of the series, as well as the prequel to the film which grossed over $415 million at the worldwide box office.

While her character may have doubts about married life, Parker is very much content in her own marriage to actor Matthew Broderick, with whom she has a son, James Joseph and twin girls, Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge.

Now Charlotte York-Goldenblatt, a converted Jew and a mother of two beautiful girls, is Kristin Davis. When asked about her character in the film, Davis talked about how Charlotte struggled with maintaining the image of her perfect life in an interview. “Charlotte has very, very high expectations of herself in those traditions, and she doesn’t always live up to them. She’s faced with, yet again, her own lack of the perfect picture that she’s trying to create, and even having trouble being honest with herself about the stress involved”. This was particularly evident in Charlotte’s struggle with motherhood, especially with admitting how difficult it is given the fact that audiences watched her struggle with infertility throughout the series. In real life, Davis became a proud mother just recently - to an abandoned baby elephant which she recently adopted in Kenya. This is no surprise as Davis serves as an Oxfam Global Ambassador and is deeply involved in wildlife conservation through work with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Prior to playing Charlotte, Davis was cast in another long-standing series, Melrose Place, where she played Brooke Armstrong for one season. She also made appearances on the television shows Will & Grace, Seinfeld, Friends, and ER. As for her role in Sex and the City, Davis was named Best Supporting Actress by both the Emmy Awards and the Golden Globes.

Cynthia Nixon returns as Miranda Hobbes, the career-driven lawyer facing a difficult transition as she begins to question her role as a career woman. Nixon shared in an interview that Miranda feels lost and conflicted when her identity as a lawyer is jeopardized. "I won't give it away but she has some trouble in her career in this film. But I really feel like it’s a mark of how Miranda has evolved."

Nixon gained media attention for two very diverse issues: her sexual orientation and a battle with breast cancer. In January 2004, she began dating Christine Marinoni, an education activitst. They are presently engaged. In April 2008, Nixon revealed in an interview on Good Morning America that she had battled breast cancer in 2006. She shared in a separate interview that she had not come out with her illness earlier because she did not want the public spectacle that it may cause, such as having paparazzi stalking her at the hospital and that she was "scared." Since then she has become a staunch advocate for the disease and serves as Ambassador for the breast cancer research and awareness foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Completing the fabulous foursome is Kim Cattrall who plays the sassy, sex-crazed publicist Samantha Jones. But her real self is in contrast to her very liberated character, as Cattrall describes herself in as more of an “observer”. In an interview, she shared about how excited she was about the sequel from the moment she read the script. "I read the script and I sent director Michael Patrick King a text. I used two words that began with 'F' and the second was 'fabulous'. I said to him, 'You've done it. You've really taken what was so fabulous about the series and what we needed to do in the first movie - which was to set everything up again - and brought something so fresh and new to Sex and the City 2. I think what we've gone back to is just seeing the girls". In the six years she played Samantha, Catrall was awarded with several Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nods.

Making appearances in the film are the men in their lives: Chris Noth as John Preston, aka Big; David Eigenberg as Steve Brady; and Evan Handler as Harry Goldenblatt. Adding character to the film are Carrie’s gay friend Stanford Blatch played by Willie Garson, and Charlotte’s gay friend Anthony Marantino played by Mario Cantone who tie the knot at the start of the movie.

Adding more sparkle to the movie are cameos from teen sensation Miley Cyrus and legendary singer-actress Liza Minelli. And of course, fans will have their fill of amazing wardrobes including to-die-for shoes, and a spectacular soundtrack.

"After all, sometimes you just have to get away with the girls."

As the movie teaser goes, you just have to get away with the girls sometimes --- and that they did. The movie was shot on location in Morocco and at the edge of the Sahara Desert. Filming was then moved to the city Marrakech where one of the most pivotal scenes of the movie would take place.

Shooting on location was an exciting adventure for the actresses of the movie. In an interview, Sarah Jessica Parker shared, "This movie was a very special experience. It was the only and first time that the four of us have ever had the chance to live together. I can't imagine having been there with anybody else and we came away from it even more close than we've ever been and knowing each other more and I think really loving each other in an entirely new way."

Does it sparkle?

While many fans are happy to see the iconic women back on the screen, the film has been shrouded with controversy and criticism, particulartly its portrayal of Muslim culture and tradition. There were sequences showing Arab women wearing seductive garments under their typically-conservative wardrobe. Roger Egbert, a movie critic opined, "[The movie] is oblivious to Arab ideas about women's modesty." But a person from Warner said in defense, “It’s a comedy …This is not making a political statement. This is not making a judgment about Muslim women or Abu Dhabi or anything like that.”

Sex and the City 2 opens on June 2, 2010 in Philippine theaters and is released by Warner Bros. Picture.

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