Sex and the City 2, Caramel, and Green Symphony

When domesticity proves to be more dull than delightful and monogamy more monotonous than manageable, it's time to reassess. Our hero chooses to escape and return to more carefree days and get second chances to alter past decisions. But when all is said and done, the hero wishes for the life/love they left behind.

Did I just describe Shrek 4 or the plot of Sex and the City 2?

For our purposes, let's claim the later. SATC2 opened last night at midnight to 20% more fanfare than the original. The heels were in full force to see the latest exploits of Carrie and company, now entering their late 40s/early 50s. After a few cocktails myself, I was ready to be transported to the middle east (the new Manhattan) where the famous four are on vacay from the realities of their lives, livelihoods (and bank accounts...oh wait...what are those?).

A few offensive scenes later, I realized I too was wandering the desert. Scorching hot outfits aside, this series was suffering a serious drought. The television show which schooled me in cosmopolitan etiquette (From how to hail a cab to how not to break up with someone: via post-it) is now a showcase for what NOT to do (how to act in a foreign country, how to act with an ex). Several major GLAMOUR don'ts. Not to mention a plot which meanders and just demands an audible "REALLY?!"

That being said, I did not have the indignant reactions of the cinema criti-ratti...mostly males of a certain age who are more apt to give a positive review of the latest Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer explosion than something that trades green screens for emerald dresses. That seems unfair. Excess and stupidity comes in more than one gender. Let us too have our carb-less bread and circuses. These women are our friends. To hear them being denigrated by these men infuriates me. They don't have permission to diss my sisters.

As goofy as their circumstances in this fanciful world might be, the ladies have some charming moments as well. Miranda and Charlotte discussing the realities of modern motherhood was one of the most poignant and honest scenes on the subject I've seen in film or television. You feel the chemistry between these cast members (all of them). They would do anything for one another. This self-less quality is not found in Gossip Girl, Mean Girls, any of the catty depictions of women we are inundated with. There is something about this series that rouses gangs of gal pals to celebrate being independent women.

If you can't bring yourself to see this film, whether it be your cardinal rule (nothing lower than 40% on Rotten Tomatoes) or your value of your time (2.5 hours!)...check out Caramel, a 2009 Lebanese export I caught at the Lebanese Film Festival at the Walter Reade. Features a gaggle of women in and around a beauty shop, exposing cultural mores, and experiencing love and fashion, both as transient as the other.

Polish off your gal pal outing with a treat from Green Symphony in Times Square -- where everyone knows your name and your gluten-intolerance. The Anytime bars are delicious.

Kick Ass, Iron Man 2, Shrek 4, and Kaffein

When summer blockbusters hit the airwaves, with tie-in commercials hawking high tech watches and slick sports cars to the heavy metal theme songs, I get gleeful. It means the superheroes are coming, the franchises, the pomp and circumstance of popcorn movie season. However, I realize this is an effect of my midwestern small town upbringing, rather than savvy studio marketing. Summer movies meant a lot more in my hometown.

Come independence day weekend at the four-screen movie theatre (not multi-plex), lines went around the block for $4 tickets (they still are..I know...I KNOW!). I prided myself on having seen all four movies showing at anytime between the months of May to August. Sometimes more than once. I saw Armageddon four times, not necessarily because I loved Bruce Willis' sacrifice for mankind or the catchy Aerosmith theme song, but because four was how many times the projectionist had to restart the reel on opening. "I don't want to miss a thing" was very apt.

I guess my movie theatre madness isn't surprising. There were few competing summer entertainment options to a 12-year old without a drivers license. Seeing the latest Hollywood blockbusters (which I had been following each week in Entertainment Weekly) meant participating in a wider cultural conversation. From references on late night talk shows to jabs in NY Times columns, fashions, abbreviations (Bennifer, Bradngelina, Lilo), these movies extended beyond their hype into a national vernacular.

Now as a jaded New Yorker, overwhelmed by options (a Broadway matinee? An afternoon at the Met? A double feature at IFC?) the multiplex offerings seem to have less impact. Only the event movies evoke watercooler conversation...Sex and the City, Dark Knight, Indiana Jones. Even still, I remain a devoted and captive audience to the so-called summer studio schlock. I am already well into this year's offerings:

Kick Ass -- Of mixed minds about this new comic book-based entry to the season's line-up. On one hand, the element situated within contemporary reality were funny in a Judd Apatow kind of way, and for a while I sort of enjoyed that they were infused with a cartoon punch. But where things got weird (and arguably irresponsible) were when Superbad merged with Sin City and an eleven year old potty-mouth girl was being pistol-whipped by a 50+ year old man. Sure part of me loved the Kick Ass quality, but sometimes it's hard to watch a dorky adolescent nearly murdered by a drug addled pimp. I am conflicted and can't recommend this to anyone with good conscience.

Iron Man 2 - Addicted to the first round, I was ecstatic for a second bout and IM2 did not disappoint. This is Robert Downey Jr.'s role and thus delightful to watch. He is smart and suave, rich and ridiculous. With Don Cheadle, ScarJo, and Mickey Rourke (although slightly off-putting), this turns into a veritable who's who of great character performances, not to mention mind-bending explosions and special effect sequences. I agree that there were some formulaic moments typical of a franchise sequel (evil villain feels slighted, befriends new villain to be henchmen, etc), but the senate hearing scene was simply spectacular cinema. Loved it like a twelve year old.

Shrek 4 -- Saw this one in 3d Imax, technology not available at the local four-screen where watching movies was akin to starring at a tv in your living room (with worse popcorn). I must say the experience is improved tremendously by that immersion into the image. I was transported into Far Far Away with lush visuals and surround sound. I felt small again and ready to be told a fairy tale. The film was serviceable, less irreverent than the others in the series, but sweet and straight-forward. I've always admired the Shrek site gags (the gingerbread cookie fending off animal crackers, the witches' grenade apples, Gepato dressed like Shrek) and enjoy revisiting characters from my past. The three little pigs, the pied piper, Pinocchio are all well-used. This, plus the karaoke tunes, make Shrek delightfully familiar. It calls upon our cultural language and distorts it to our pleasure. We escape, with friends, and return to a state of childlike innocence and wonderment. Which to me is what the summer blockbuster is all about.

Any of these films would be washed down easily with a grasshopper milkshake from Kaffein (tastes like an Andes mint frappucino)...where I followed up many summer movies and ended a few awkward dates in Evanston, Illinois. If you are averse to the lactose, try an italian soda. Always a lovely treat at this teen hangout.