Movie Mondays: Sex and the City 2: Marriage and Baby Woes Examined

Alright, I might get some backlash for this one, but I really enjoyed the second installment. In fact, I hated the first movie and refused to watch the second one for quite a while. But I caved recently and was pleasantly surprised.
I liked that Carrie is no longer chasing Big, doubting Big, and basically acting like a fool about him. Instead, now she is doubting her own feelings about Big, which makes her more likable and real to me. The pining and insecurity in the last one got old. I thought this showed good growth for her character.
 Michael Patrick King's characters are of course predictable because they have been around for quite a while. Yet, he still manages to make Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda grow a little (Carrie the most). Charlotte is never going to change and that's not poor writing--it's just refreshingly honest and true to her type.
Charlotte shows weakness which is welcomed after always being reserved and uptight. She is a little too whiny here, but being a new mom will do that to anyone so she nails that. Miranda becomes her crutch since they share mommyhood.
My only beef with their mommyhood is that I wish King would have thrown in a couple of jabs to Carrie and Samantha about not being mothers because many mothers with childless friends seem completely perplexed by others that don't want kids anytime soon (or not at all) in my experience.
I also like that King owned the ridiculously lavish setting of Abu Dhabi in the face of our failing economy in America. He and the characters didn't apologize for it or skirt around the issue; instead, Samantha exclaims she "wants to go somewhere rich" and since it's on someone else's dime, why the hell not?! We would all jump on a trip of a lifetime like that too.
I also respected the flirtation between Aidan and Carrie (Aidan is the one I thought she should have ended up with anyway) because it shows the temptations that are always testing marriage or any relationship. I was surprised they kept the flirtation PG, but I also liked that King respected the institution of marriage by not going for the obvious tryst.
Fun yet touching on important issues such as motherhood, marriage, temptation, and of course, friendship, Sex and the City 2 redeemed the franchise after the terrible Sex and the City 1.