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FOR all
its flaws and flagrant flouting of credulity, there’s a
certain charm to The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants 2, the sequel to the 2005 hit about four
disparate friends who rely on one another—and one pair
of artfully faded, studded and bejeweled jeans—to
navigate the complexities of young adulthood. This time,
those complexities include juggling books with
after-school gigs at anachronistic video stores, first
breakups and pregnancy scares.
We could
quibble, of course: No one really buys the idea that a
pair of magical pants can fit four very different-sized
bottoms and instantly bestow the wearer a fabulous
life-and-learning experience. (And indeed, the
filmmakers don’t seem to be buying it either, dropping
the whole idea midway through the movie like a pair of
last year’s J Brands.)
Then
there’s the narrative arc that feels cribbed from
“Scriptwriting for Dummies.” (Of course Carmen’s jealous
roommate is going to sabotage her!) And how, in the
Traveling Pants universe, it only takes about 10 minutes
to drive from Manhattan to Vermont—in rush-hour
traffic—and frequent-flier miles funding roundtrip
tickets to Greece fall like manna from the sky.
But
still. This is pure, escapist fun—skepticism and
naysaying are best left at home.
Because
once again Sisterhood, this time directed by
Sanaa Hamri (Something New), has four very good
things going for it: Alexis Bledel (Lena), America
Ferrera (Carmen), Blake Lively (Bridget) and Amber
Tamblyn (Tibby). Since the first Sisterhood,
Ferrera and Lively have become the It Girls of prime
time, in Ugly Betty and Gossip Girls,
respectively. Now their characters, based on the series
of young-adult novels by Ann Brashares, are back,
determined to prove that true love is a
once-in-a-lifetime happening and Sisterhood truly
conquers all.
And
indeed, the Sisterhood is an enthusiastic bunch of
overachievers; now that high school’s over, Carmen is
finishing up her freshman year at Yale; Tibby is
studying at NYU’s film school; Lena is studying art at
the Rhode Island School of Design; and Bridget is at
nearby Brown.
Summer
brings on enviable gigs for the gals. (Only members of
the Sisterhood get to hang out at archaeological digs in
Turkey, decked out in Abercrombie & Fitch-esque duds,
and belly-dance with the magnificent Shohreh Aghdashloo.)
The film divides into four distinct story lines, held
loosely together by the peripatetic pants, which, as in
the first Sisterhood, get FedExed around the globe.
Along the way, they deal with Issues—mental illness, a
suicidal parent, fear of intimacy, burgeoning sexuality,
strained friendship, (begin ital) missing (end ital)
magic pants—and, thanks to the talent and humor of its
young stars, you really don’t mind that everything gets
wrapped up a little too (begin ital) too (end
ital)neatly by the end.
In an
age of panty-free drama queens and Us Weekly exposes of
size 0 starlets, the Sisterhood sistren are a robustly
energetic force that propels the viewer along,
leapfrogging over improbable-plot devices and clunky
dialogue (“No one can diminish you but yourself!”). In a
season in which the multiplex has become increasingly
androgenic, it’s refreshing to see young women portrayed
as something other than the hot chick in the latest
blockbuster. |
