Sex and Abu Dhabi

Ok so I just got around to watching 'Sex and the City 2' and I have to agree with my fellow critics when they called the movie over the top and cheesy and I personally thought that the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster was unnecessary.Now I'll leave the critiquing to the experts, and will concentrate on what I know best-the fashion angle.So Patricia Field(stylist extraordinaire) has done a stellar job yet again(no surprise there), but i really could have done without my favourite foursome looking like they just walked out from a fashion editorial.Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha look like airbrushed versions of themselves.I mean could you ever imagine the cynical and ever so practical Miranda Hobbes as being the craziest of the bunch, when it comes to sartorial choices that is(the unthinkable does happen in a scene in Abu Dhabi;actually Morocco posing as Abu Dhabi).And what's with the overdose of 80's fashion?I mean I love power shoulders as much as the next Balmain loving regular joe, but Samantha's outfits could have easily given Joan Collins a complex.The excessive use of Halston on Carrie made me feel like I was back in studio 54(Mrs. Broderick trying mighty hard to promote a brand she now has a major stake in).I get that 'Sex and the City' is an aspirational franchise and hence the decadent, over the top outfits, but they could have atleast stayed true to the characters.I mean isn't that what worked for the show in the first place, that the characters were relatable.Throughout the 6 seasons of the show, we all loved Carrie Bradshaw as much for her street smart as her sartorial genius,but in this movie, Carrie has been reduced to a brand wearing bumbling idiot who forgets her passport in a middle eastern souk when she sees an old flame.Also the soundtrack and art direction in this one just didn't work for me(where is a soulful Jennifer Hudson when you need her?).Unlike the 2008 outing of the franchise, this one just seemed pointless and didn't seem to take the story forward.So it would be advisable for the ladies to hang their Manolos while they still can(with respect and dignity intact that is) and pass on the mantle to the Emma Roberts of the world , who can take forward the legacy of Carrie Bradshaw in 'The Carrie Diaries'(again wishful thinking on my part).