In the 1930s, the idea of escapismt media brought newfound popularity to the cinema. Average Americans, in pursuit of a legal way to escape the “real world,” flocked to classics like “The Jazz Singer” and “King Kong.”

A couple of decades later, middle-aged women are the ones flocking to the movies, but this time for something a little less classy and a little more Fabergé.

Nonetheless, Sex and the City 2 provides the same escape tactic: why think about economic hardships when Carrie Bradshaw is worried her marriage doesn’t have enough “sparkle?”

The beginning scene fairly accurately sets the tone for the entire movie. Carrie’s gay best friend (what fabulous woman in New York City doesn’t have a fabulous gay best friend?) has fallen in love with Miranda’s gay best friend, and the smitten two are hosting their very own, very gay white wedding.

As these flamboyant men would only have it, the cathedral is filled with swans, ice sculptures, and choirboys singing show tunes. There is even a Liza Minielli version of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” to end the scene with dazzling jazz hands.

The rest of the movie follows in the same ridiculously glamorous fashion.  Samantha scores an all-inclusive free trip to Dubai, inviting her three best friends along for the “decadence.” Once arriving, however, the ladies discover it’s not exactly, “Aladdin with Cocktails.”

Carrie runs into her ex, Samantha can’t keep it in her pants in one of the most modest countries in the world, Charlotte is worried her husband is hooking up with the bra-less nanny, and Miranda misses working more than her children. Amidst the budding vacation hot spot, the girls find themselves worried about the lives they left behind, rather than the beauty that surrounds them.

But never fear, there is no obstacle the girls can’t solve in less than five minutes. One of the biggest conflicts throughout the entire movie is when Carrie remembers she set her passport down at a flea market when she was buying $20 (so cheap!) shoes. But after returning to the same vendor, they find the passports, and in squealed delight each buy a pair of shoes.

Even if the plot line is ironically bland for such an extravagant movie, Sex in the City 2’s biggest downfall lay not within the screen play, but rather its strength: lavishness.

The desire to see a movie like Sex and the City 2 is not fueled by the inner intellectual.

It’s stimulated by this idea of escapism, this idea that maybe people do marry Mr. Big and have sex with younger movie stars, this idea that sometimes people do live their dream lives. This idealism is reflected cinematically by Jimmy Choo heels and airplanes with suites instead of seats.

As a viewer, it’s the decision to accept the decadence, the extravagance, the ridiculousness that makes Sex and the City 2 worth the $10. The money isn’t for a gripping two and half hours; it’s for a bag of popcorn and some mind numbing entertainment.

But as a viewer, it is a choice. Accept the movie for what it is, and thus accept that four middle-aged women can drop everything they are doing in their lives and spend a week in India, or reject the film as an overdose of lavish stupidity.

As a member of the prior party, I still was a little underwhelmed with such an overwhelming movie. The bare bones to a strong feminine message lay somewhere buried beneath the hijabs.

Carrie complains about losing her voice due to the New York Times bashing her novel, as she also questions why the women surrounding her are silenced as well. What could have developed into a moral for a fairly shallow movie, lay instead underdeveloped and forgotten.

 Even if the moral was developed, it would have been more than I expected.

Honestly, when you’re knowingly entering a movie theater to watch Sex ands the City 2, how much are you really expecting from it anyways?

Sex and the City 2 is two hours and 26 minutes long, and is rated R for some strong sexual content and language.