SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS--MAGIC HAS COME TO US IN A PAIR OF PANTS
Written: Jun 08 '05 (Updated Jun 09 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: well acted ensemble, helps you get in touch with your inner wench; moving
Cons: a bit sentimental and melodramatic at times; some stories not as effective as others
The Bottom Line: Like trousers? Try to wiggle into the fabric of these adolescent nymphets as their friendship gets tested one summer apart in the spirited, finely acted SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS
jarvococker's Full Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Fate has bonded Bridget (Blake Lively), Carmen (America Ferrera), Lena (Alexis Bledel), and Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) together into an inseparable sisterhood even before birth. Their mothers met at a prenatal aerobics class in their hometown of Bethesda, and they were all born within a week of each other. Now in high school and facing their first summer apart, destiny has thrown another cosmic symbol to cement their friendship: a pair of mythical blue jeans which fits all of them too snugly to be mere coincidence.
Mature enough to know better but still tethered by an innocent purity that assigns levels of universal importance to the silly, they draft a manifesto around the jeans that shall unite them even as they spend the next few months apart. Among the credos of this girlhood constitution: no washing of the pants; only the wearer can remove them; and the wearer can never admit to looking fat in them. The manifesto wistfully concludes on this joyous note of improvised togetherness: "To the pants and the sisterhood! To the summer and the rest of our lives together and apart!"
Thus begins THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, an engaging and heartfelt coming of age story with a multi character arc that isn't as busy as one might expect, with a trusty, one size fits all pair of denims paving the way to loose fitting growth. Adapted from the Ann Brashares novel by Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandler and directed with lissome earnestness by Ken Kwapis, SISTERHOOD doesn't condescend to girl power rites of passage, but celebrates it with subtle sweetness and an unforced power of personal awareness. Plus, by virtue of its winning ensemble of wholesome, fresh faced actresses, this sensitive portrait of girls on the brink of adulthood conveys bursts of affection and family ties drama, with added potent emphasis on the savoring of precious moments and the blossoming of individual identities.
As is to be expected, SISTERHOOD sports an extended family dynamic of diverse personalities amongst film's leads. Lena, who spends the summer in Greece with her grandparents (George Touliatus and Maria Konstadarou), is introverted, self conscious about her budding beauty, artistic and shy. Bridget, by comparison, who participates at a soccer camp in Mexico, is more extroverted, comfortably gorgeous in her revealing athletic gear, blond, sunny, but secretly devastated by the death of her mother. Carmen, bussing it to South Carolina to spend time with her estranged father (Bradley Whitford), is bright, spirited, Latina, and the most affectionate of the lot. Last but not least is Tibby, the only one grounded in Bethesda for the summer. Pessimistic and not the most prepossessing of the bunch (It's clear her family is the least financially well off of the troupe), she halfheartedly takes a job at a Walmart type store to finance a documentary (Or "suck-umentary," as she labels it) in her spare time.
Together the personalities mesh into a perfectly complimented whole, devoted to one another without a drop of Mean Girls snobbery among the four. There's no after school special anorexia subplots, no scandalous teenage pregnancies to contend with. No fits of binge drinking induced comas. The closest SISTERHOOD comes to courting controversy is Lena and Bridget losing their virginities to older, college age guys, but like most of film's affectionate tone these serve as pivots to introspection. Through her relationship with Kostas (Michael Rady), Lena gradually becomes less ill at ease with herself, opens up more and realizes it's okay to regard yourself as special. Bridget, on the other hand, who hooks up with a soccer coach named Eric (Mike Vogel) is chasing romantic attachment as a means to escape her unspoken grief. Despite being the weakest of the four story lines, Bridget discovering sex is no substitute for real love is a telling observation.
The most compelling stories in SISTERHOOD--Carmen's and Tibby's--are also the most overtly melodramatic, but that can be forgiven. Carmen's frustration coming to terms with her father's engagement to the similarly divorced, mother of two Lydia (Nancy Travis) has the most emotional fireworks, and Ferrera, the least emotionally timid of the four, gives an explosive performance that cuts right to the heart. Ditto Tamblyn as Tibby, whose teenage angst may be cliched, but pays off well stacked against the adorable Bailey (Excellent Jenna Boyd), a leukemia stricken kid Tibby at first grudgingly takes on as a production assistant on her documentary. An exploration of existential malaise, this documentary story line ties too neatly with Bailey's overall predictable purpose--to teach others, Tibby in particular, to not take any moment in life for granted. Hokey? You bet! But Tamblyn and Boyd make magic out of their combustible chemistry, and the unique friendship between Tibby and Bailey makes for the most satisfying chapter from SISTERHOOD.
Taking time to appreciate life's little moments is at the heart of SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS. And there's much to appreciate in this moving film. The gorgeous Greek harbor where Lena makes eyes with Kostas. Carmen, appalled that her father has moved on from his original family with a cardboard, Anglo Stepford family, interrupting their dinner by hurling a rock at the dining room window. Or the selfless Bailey giving valuable, unsolicited advice to a disgruntled co-worker of Tibby's that should melt anybody's hearts. Will boys dig it? Who cares! If for nothing else, the prospect of gushing at four attractive and talented young actresses coming of age in wholesome fashion will be compensation enough for skipping testosterone crap fests like "Longest Yard" or "XXX: State of the Union." A sensitive, graceful, well intentioned family film, this SISTERHOOD should fit any wearer who chooses to try them.
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