Customer Reviews

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This is a truly amazing film brought to life by four truly amazing girls-- Alexis Bledel as shy Lena, Amber Tamblyn as rebel Tibby, Blake Lively as fun-loving Bridget, and America Ferrera as writer Carmen. Each girl has a different story to deliver from different parts of the world. Lena's in Greece with her grandparents, Tibby's at home working a dull job at Wallman's, Bridget is at soccer camp in Mexico, and Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina.

Together, they form the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants after discovering that a hot pair of Levi's fits each of their different body types perfectly. They decide that the best thing to do is to share the jeans since they'll be spending the summer apart, wearing them for one week and then mailing them to the next person. Lena gets them first, almost drowning the first day she wears them, only to be rescued by a cute Greek boy, who will no doubt get her out of her shell. Tibby gets them next, who is staying home to work to get money for more camera equipment to make her "suckumentary." She meets a vivacious 12 year old named Bailey, a girl who loves life as opposed to Tibby's "life sucks" attitude. Carmen then gets the jeans-- she learns that her father (who left her when she was young) is remarrying a woman with two children. She feels like an outcast in a see of blonde Brady Bunchers. Then the jeans head to Bridget. She's still coping with her mother's suicide, and flirts with the off limits soccer coach because it gives her something to do other than be sad.

So the jeans travel between each girl throughout the movie, each time getting a new story and opening up new chapters in these girls' lives. This is a wonderful movie. Very well played out and extremely well written, surprisingly so for a film about girl power... it stacks up much better than films like Sleepover or New York Minute, which absolutely stink compared to this rare summer jewel. RECOMMENDED!!

Four teenagers who couldn't be more different are all best friends that have known each other since before birth. (Their moms were all in Lamaze class together.)

They have shared hopes, dreams, and now will spend the summer sharing pants. They found a perfect pair of pants that fit both thin and curvy girls somehow. They feel that there is "magic" in those pants and good things will happen to those who wear them. They promise to send them to each location (they will go their separate ways for the summer) every few weeks. They even come up with rules about wearing the pants, "You can't ever say you are fat while wearing the pants. Only the wearer of the pants can take them off." and so on.

Lena goes to Greece to visit family, Bridget goes to soccer camp in Mexico, Carmen goes to South Carolina to visit her father that she hardly ever sees, and Tibby has to stay home and work at Wallmans while making her "suckumentary."

As they start to wear the pants, things are going wrong: Lena meets the perfect boy, but their grandparents have a feud and she is told not to see him. Bridget meets a boy as well, but he is also her coach and they are not allowed to get involved. Carmen finds that her father is going to be remarried and now he is going to have two stepchildren. They all live together in the suburbs and seem to have the perfect life. Tibby meets a 12 year old who fainted in her store and this girl follows her around while she gives interviews and wants to work for her.

Do the pants really have magic in them, or are they just imagining that great things will happen to them while wearing these jeans? One thing stays true: the four friends are there for each other throughout and support one another if things don't go the way they hoped.

Of course there are a few sappy parts, some unrealistic, but I did cry genuine tears. This is a beautiful film about love and friendship. Plus, you are able to see some gorgeous areas of Greece. Transport yourself back to your teenage years and feel a little bit of that magic.

`Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' is a sweet and charming film. I am a middle-aged male living in Japan, but I think I know that much. Don't dismiss this well-made film just because it is (or seems) made for a certain group of target audience, perhaps for teenage girls in this case. It is sugar-coated, sure it is, but it contains something different in that.

Four girls are not a rare situation for story. About ten years ago we had 'Now and Then' and of course, there is always a classic tale of Alcott. This film, however, has one unique common thread throughout, and that is one pair of jeans worn by four 16-year-old girls living in Maryland. As the film begins, these girls are going to spend summer in four different places - Greece, Mexico, South Carolina, and Maryland (one stays at home) but before doing so, they decide to wear the newly-bought jeans according to the ten rules they made. Just like true sisterhood.

But the charms of the film come from the four young talents, Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Alexis Bledel. I must say some parts of their characters are clichéd ones, such as a surly girl Tibby working at supermarket, making a `suckmentary' of the people she thinks are boring; Carmen, who goes to her divorced father who is going to marry again; a soccer player Bridget who flirts with a handsome coach; and timid Lena who finds a love in Greece, and the courage to say what she really thinks. You can say you have heard similar stories told in books and films, and if you do, you would be excused. But at the same time you will find that the four girls are so real and charming in more than one way, not what you call `types' or `stock characters.'

But you will prefer one to the others. I find Tibby's character most impressive. She meets an equally surly girl (fantastic Jenna Boyd), self-appointed `assistant' of her documentary film, and their relations are sincerely described. You may call it a tearjerker (because it is), but it is a good one, for which reason they should be praised.

As other reviewers say, it is based on the beloved bestselling book, but I confess I haven't read it. Maybe I should, or maybe not. As far as the film is concerned, however, it is sweet and heart-warming, and should be seen by many people, regardless of age and sex.

Friends they were before their birth
And then they stuck together
Friends through sadness and in mirth
And friends they'd be forever

They came upon a pair of pants
And tried them on for size
But when it fit despite their "can't"s
They'd not believed their eyes

To share the magic of their find
Ten rules they each did swear
One week the pants to each to mind
Then to the next to wear

In print it is a wondrous tale
Of girls and friends and fate
The movie loses some detail
But still remains first rate

Mostly faithful to the book
With a slightly offbeat cast
Amber Tamblyn's off tha hook
And Jenna Boyd's a blast

A must for every teenage girl
Who ever had best friends
Be sure to give this film a whirl
Where friendship never ends


Amanda Richards, October 22, 2005

I teased my wife to no end when she bought this so she made me watch it. To my chagrin, it didn't suck so now I must make my amends . . .

Although obviously targeted to teenage girls it deals with some mature themes in a thoughtful way. Although cheesy at times, it's a nice coming-of-age story. You don't have to be a teenage girl to like this movie, but it helps.

I'm a guy and mainly into guy-things. Every once in a while, my fiancee has me sit down for a "chick flick" with her, and I'm okay with that; sometimes, chick flicks are pretty good. This one was very good.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about four life-long friends who have to separate for a summer. They each have adventures (fairly deep ones) while keeping connected with one another by having a pair of jeans in common, which they mail back and forth. The situations they deal with are pretty intense for your standard young girl film: alienation from separated parents; losing virginity; bigotry; death.

Each of the stories (and they are fairly separate from one another) is interesting. Each of the actors/actresses does a fine job (especially the one who plays Carmen). While there aren't any car chases, this is a very good film that will keep just about anyone entertained. Even the boyfriend.

Carmen and her three friends have known and loved one another for as long as they can remember. Their mothers met in prenatal class. There's Bridget a blonde take charge kind of girl. Lena the shy Greek artist. Tibby the rebel-with-a-cause film documentarian. And Carmen, the writer. Carmen is also the narrator of this story that works on the themes of fate, friends, family and self respect.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants is based on the novel of the same title by Ann Brashares Ann has a whole series dedicated to the friends and the pants. The girls are all 16 and have never been apart. But this year they are all going off in their own directions for the summer. Before they depart they go on one last shopping trip together. For a joke they try on the same pair of jeans Carmen casually pulls from a bin of disorganized clothing. The girls all different shapes and sizes all magically fit into the same pair of jeans.

They decide to buy the jeans and share them over the summer as a way of keeping in touch. In a candle celebration where their mothers met they reside over flame, paper and ink and develop the "Sisterhood Manifesto" containing rules they all must abide while wearing the pants; like, each girl gets the pants for a week, no picking your nose while wearing the pants, writing a letter about something exciting that happened while wearing the pants and sending it along with the pants to the next girl. They hold hands and chant "The pants - the sisterhood - the summer. The rest of our lives Together and apart." then blow out the candles.

LENA is played by Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls. She travels to Greece with pants in tow to visit her grandparents. Her first time wearing the pants she falls off the dock, the pant leg catches on a piece of metal and she almost drowns. She is saved by gorgeous Greek student Kostas Dounas (Michael Rady) who, she is told by her grandmother, is ruthless and untrustworthy. Lena quickly sends pants off to Tibby with a letter telling her the pants almost killed her. Greece is breathtaking.

TIBBY is played by Amber Tamblyn from Joan of Arcadia. Poor Tibby is stuck at home working in Wallman's department store. While on the job a girl collapses and Tibby calls the ambulance. The girl, played by Jenna Boyd, shows up on Tibby's doorstep a few days later because a parcel (containing the pants) was delivered to her door by accident (or was it).

CARMENcita is played by America Ferrera from Real Women Have Curves. Carmen visits her dad, played by Bradley Whitford (West Wing), in South Carolina. He hasn't spent more than four days with her since she was ten. She is very excited about having him all to her self for the summer. Instead he surprises her by bringing her to his new home in the suburbs with his blonde beautiful fiancée (Nancy Travis) and her two blonde perfect kids.

Carmen is the next to get the pants after getting lost in the mail system for a bit. When they arrive she is thrilled. She wears them when she goes for the bridal fitting which is a disaster. The staff and future step mom treat her as if she isn't there or doesn't have ears while they pulls and pinch at the pink satin number that doesn't fit Carmen's luscious Spanish curves. She quickly changes back into the pants and tells them off.

BRIDGET is played by newcomer Blake Lively. She travels to Les Campeonas, a sport soccer camp for girls in Baha. Bridget is a showboat, not a team player. She sets her sights on one of the coaches. He's blonde, she's blonde. He's competitive, she's competitive. A perfect match except he's a coach and she's a student and it just isn't allowed. Now if only the pants would arrive so she can get her man.

None of the girls think anything other than bad things happened when they wore the pants but the viewer sees otherwise; the pants gave them a voice. Ken Kwapis did an excellent job of directing these young women and their separate stories. It reminded me a lot of If These Walls Could Talk where the women from different eras were connected by the same house.

All the girls played their parts excellently but America Ferrera seemed to pave the way with the narrating and her dominate role. She faces similar conflicts in this role as she did in Real Women Have Curves but it isn't the focus of her story line. If you're a fan of any of these women it's well worth seeing.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants is about being open to new relationships while maintaining ties with the old. It's also about spreading your wings, making your own decisions and standing up for yourself. Basically, it's about becoming an adult except more entertaining. Overall, it has a good message for women no matter what their age. Have your Kleenex handy. Review written by M. E. Wood

Features:

1. Fun on the Set - The girls talk about working with one another and being friends on and off the set.
2. Suckumentary - Amber narrates as Tibby her documentary on losers.
3. Video Commentary on Sisters Secrets and the Travelling Pants - Amber, Alexis and America (Blake on speaker phone) sit on the floor with treats talking about the secrets behind the movie like the blonde hair extensions Blake had to wear for her character. America kept direction going as they watched selected scenes and talked about them.
4. A Conversation with Ann Brashares - Writing, the book, and making it into a movie.
5. Director's Commentary
6. Theatrical Trailer

The sisterhood of the traveling pants is a great tale of the true enduring lengths of friendship. It tells the tale of four different best friends. Shy Artistic Lena, Rebelious filmaker Tibby, Bold Athletic Bridget, and Careing Compassionate CArmen, are the four girls that make up the sisterhood. The story begins when the four girls are at the thrift store and find a pair of pants that fit all four of them. When summer threatens to take away their friendship by sending them to seperate corners of the world, Lena in Greece Tibby...at home, Carmen in South Carolina, and BRidget in Mexico but yet again the pants come through. The pants link the girls to eachother and the strength the girls give to the pants help each of them face there inner turmoil.

I LOVED this movie!!! My friend wanted to see it and I was hesitating because it looked like a film for young girls, and being in my 40s, I didn't have much interest. My expectations were not particularly high walking in. Well, I sure changed my mind; this film is fantastic! The script was beautifully written, which always makes all the difference. The four girls did a great job in their roles, but with such a great story to work with, they could hardly go wrong. I recommend this film to women and girls of all ages, and to boys and men, too. As far as I can recall, there was little or no swearing. Thank you, Hollywood!

I almost didn't go to this movie, thinking that it was for teenagers, but I was wrong. I went and discovered that, although the lead roles are teenaged girls, the movie has a much wider appeal and hits on some universal themes. The four main characters are life-long friends whose mothers met in a pre-natal aerobics class before they were born. They have always been together, but for the first time three of them will be having summer adventures in other places. Carmen is going to stay with her dad for the summer, but some very unwelcome surprises await her. Bridget is at a soccer camp in Mexico where she looks for love in all the wrong places. Lena visits her grandparents in Greece and gets in the middle of a 2-family feud, and Tibby stays home to work in a local discount store and make a documentary. All of the girls have life-changing experiences which cause them to reflect and to grow. Through it all, they are there for each other via the "traveling pants", a pair of jeans which miraculously fits all four of them. The acting by each of the girls, along with a younger girl who plays the part of Bailey, is excellent. Take my advice, grab a good friend or two, and see this movie! You won't regret it.