The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

My 10 year old daughter and I went to see this yesterday. I haven't read the books, but she has. We had mixed reviews...I enjoyed the movie but Elizabeth was terribly disappointed. She kept whispering "Mom, that's not in the book"..."that didn't happen that way"...and apparently some pretty major discrepancies exist.

Because I didn't have any plot expectations. I thought the movie was well done. The characters were believable, the acting was great, the topics were handled in a manner that was suitable for my pre-teen to watch. The comments I overheard from the other audience members (99% teenage girls at this Friday matinée!) were positive.

My rating is a combination of my score (8 or 9) and her score (4 or 5). So just a word of caution...if you expect the move to follow the book, you may be disappointed.

Besides the fascinating documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom," another worthy attraction that probably got 'buried' by the Hollywood summer blockbusters is director Ken Kwapis film, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," based on the novel by Ann Brashares.

It is a cleverly edited, heart-warming travelogue/diary of four good friends during their first summer apart after graduation. America Ferrera (fantastic in "Real Women Have Curves" 2002) as Carmen, Alexis Bledel as Lena, Blake Lively as Bridget, Amber Tamblyn as Tibby, who ran into young Bailey - portrayed by Jenna Boyd (brilliant in director Ron Howard's "The Missing" 2003 opposite Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood and Tommy Lee Jones). There are life lessons from watching the different experiences each of them goes through - new places, new faces, new emotions that each of them encounters/discovers in their segments. The link between each of their summer adventures/activities is a pair of jeans they 'sworn' to share.

What a novel idea to present the various aspects of growing young women: Lena's Greek adventure spending with distant relatives and meeting Kostos, turned into a mini-version of Romeo and Juliet with family feud (verbal/non-verbal arguments vs. physical conflicts). Blake's energetic sporting camp environment with new companions eventually forces her to break out of her 'façade' of bravado behavior and the truth of parental longing surfaces. Carmen's journey raises emotional havoc as she struggles with the unexpected event of her father re-marrying, having to deal with new family members vs. her wish of spending quality time alone with Dad. Tibby may be doing nothing exotic or literal travels, but staying in hometown, working at the Mart, with the surprised 'intrusion' by Bailey the precocious 12 year old becoming her self-invited video assistant, somehow provided enriched life lessons. Unanticipated, the four friends bonded deeper and helped each other through stumbling hurdles, maturing expansively this one memorable summer.

I enjoyed this film better than the 1995 "Now and Then," a movie also about four girlfriends, with two sets of known actresses: Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gaby Hoffmann and Ashleigh Aston Moore as the young Rosie O'Donnell, Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore and Rita Wilson. "Traveling Pants," even though with budding young actresses, provided more in-depth emotional journeys, life wisdom, and picturesque romantic Greece for added value. This may be more of a 'girly' film, but certainly a family entertainment (likened to Disney quality productions like "The Parent Trap").

Also highly recommend a similar theme of five girlfriends (actually three plus a pair of twin sisters) film in Korean, written-directed by Jae-Eun Jeong, "Take Care of My Cat" 2001. It has a more gritty approach, included tough scenarios/facts of life to each girl's family background influences, the trials and tribulations of keeping up friendships fresh out of school. Heart-wrenching at times yet the youthful energy retained, the hopes and dreams, little romances and arguments, along with their (pager/email) cell phones constantly ringing/reaching for 'connections.'

The only magic realism in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is the one, one-size-fits-all pair of jeans worn the four female friends, whose summer adventures bring a dose of realism magical only for the insights into life, the pain and pleasure that come in from age seventeen to the end. As a coming-of-age film, this ranks with the best of them for non-condescending, adult-like perceptions, with nary a "like" in the girls' vocabulary.

Two of these lifelong chums have summer romances that transcend the usual sun and sand trifles; the other two deal with even more substantial challenges, ones that involve connecting with family or friends after years of disconnection. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants offers no easy solutions to questions about openness, sexuality, parental neglect, and death. Rather each girl has an epiphany that grows naturally out of the frustrations accompanying inexperience and immaturity.

Love on a Greek island while riding a scooter like Audrey Hepburn through the streets of Rome demands confronting the intrusions of family reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet; love on a beach in Mexico unleashes longing for a parent that goes beyond a beautiful boy; a new life for a parent means the death of an old one for a child; and teen alienation turns to acceptance and even love through the magic of a new friend.

None of these realistic setups for teen enlightenment can make an engaging film unless the actresses are believable, and in Sisterhood each young woman carries her role with deftness and sincerity sometimes not found in the most seasoned actresses. Special recognition should be given to Jenna Boyd as 12-year old Bailey, who believably transforms one teen from misogynist to humanist. This little actress has the chops to win the Oscar someday.

The ten rules of the sisterhood are dominated by the logistical one that states, "You must pass the pants along to your sisters according to the specifications set down by the Sisterhood." FedEx does the delivery; the girls supply the specific adventures that echo the anguish and resilience of being a teen in a society that sometimes doesn't care. You will care for each girl; I guarantee it as if it were a pair of Levis, sturdy and malleable, sexy and comfortable. Come to think of it—that's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

I went to see this movie with my wife and, upon entering the theater, immediately became uncomfortable. There was only one other man at the screening and he was obviously feeling a little out of place as well (although he seemed relieved to see me walk in). I was expecting a teen soap opera, but what the movie delivered was quite different. This movie is more like a modern-times "Little Women" or a teen girl version of "Dead Poets Society". In other words, it's something that I haven't seen any sign of for decades....an intelligent drama aimed at teenage girls. My response to seeing this movie was similar to how i felt after seeing "Babe". I know this is an odd comparison, but both were thoughtful, intelligent movies aimed at a target audience that is usually fed cinematic rubbish. The elements of good film-making are on full display here. Strong acting, sure-handled directing, terrific writing....everything that makes a movie great. If you are a teenage girl or have one in your life, this is an absolutely must-see movie. If you don't, you'll still have a good time.

We often have expectations that a movie will follow a book to the letter. Due to time limitations, creative ideas, etc. the film makers often need to adjust the story from the book to fit the film. As a lover of both books and film I ask that those who turn a book into a film follow the spirit and the feeling of the book. I believe the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants director and screenwriters did just that.

Basically the book tells the story of 4 teenage girls who are experiencing their first summer apart ever, since they have known each other since birth. Unbelievably, they find a pair of jeans which fits each girl amazingly well, although they have very different body shapes. They take this to mean the pants hold some sort of magic, so promise to send the pants to each other throughout the summer and use it as a way of keeping in touch with each other (thus - the traveling pants). The pants are sent from Tibby (staying at home) to Bridget (in Baja California, Mexico at Soccer camp) to Carmen (with her father in North Carolina) to Lena (visiting her grandparents in Greece).

Three of the story lines are very true to the book, although with slight variations. Tibby's storyline is almost a perfect match to the book, Bridget's is close, and Carmen's is slightly varied showing her in a less mature light than in the book. Lena's story, on the other hand, is told completely in reverse of the book. However, I can understand the need to make this change, as the twists and turns of Lena's story in the book would have been difficult to project onto film. The end result: the girls experience the same issues in the movie as they did in the book, and they change in the way the book indicated. The "feel" of the movie is the same as that in the book.

This film is truly a coming of age story about young high school girls. It is beautifully filmed with lovely scenery from both Greece and Mexico. The actors portraying the young girls are very well cast and match the descriptions from the book. As a librarian, I can tell you that no movie can ever equal the movie you make in your head while you are reading a book. But, this movie is beautiful in its own right, and a lovely story of growing up female and experiencing love, passion, death, and disappointment. The girls learn that the love and friendship they share will help them to get through all the issues of growing up.