But most surprising of all, given the fact that both movies were written and directed by the openly gay Michael Patrick King, is how retrograde they are in their treatment of gayness.
They feel insincere, overblown, transparently commercial - and in the case of the recent sequel, brutally culturally insensitive. The movies, by contrast, are a testament to what happens when people lose touch. Part of what made the original HBO show so important was its ability to keep its finger on the pulse: From its relationship dilemmas to its frank sexual talk, the show prided itself on being hip and edgy. But two movies in the past two years have made me genuinely angry, and the strange thing is, these two movies are aimed largely at gay men, beloved by gay men, and most surprisingly of all, made by gay men: ' Sex and the City' and, now, its mind-blowingly tone-deaf sequel, ' Sex and the City 2.' Even frat-party celebrations like 'The Hangover' are required to show some nuance and sensitivity toward gay characters and themes. These days, there's not that much to offend.
I like to think I'm not the kind of gay man who gets easily offended watching movies about gay people.
