The four loveable friends are no longer adolescents and life
has scattered them around the world, like life tends to do, yet their enduring
friendship is as resilient and comforting as that magical pair of jeans that
first strengthened their bond.
“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” continues in the
tradition of Ann Brashares’s novels as well as the 2005 big-screen adaptation
which brought a warm smile and a reassuring feeling that friendship will
outlast all else that troubles us and that there is beauty to be felt, even
when ridden by worries typical of that age.
America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and Blake
Lively reprise their roles as Carmen, the plump passionate one, Tibby, the sarcastically
humorous softie, Lena, the poetic painter who dreams of a perfect first love
and Bridget, the attractive blond girl who is trying to heal her wounds,
respectively.
They are now students in college and have grown into their
own separate lives, only to be magically reconnected by the same pair of
one-size-fits-all jeans that they were passing around in the first movie,
finding to their astonishment that they bring good fortune to she who wears
them.
They have continued their mailing of the pants across the
country, with faith that the magic continues.
Soccer-playing Bridget is now passionate about archeology
and finds a mentor in one special teacher she meets at an archeology dig in Turkey,
portrayed by Iranian-American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (“The House of Sand
and Fog”). Still struggling with the pain of having lost her mother, Bridget is
now slowly learning to come to terms with her suicide.
Lena, who in the first
movie was the picture of femininity and dreaminess, is now mending her heart after
her first love, that idyllic Greek romance with Kostas (Michael Rady), has
ended. Just as girly and flowery as ever, Lena is now studying drawing at the
Rhode Island School of Design and has fallen in love with, who else, a handsome
artist’s model who happens to be just as beautiful on the inside as he is on
the outside (Leo, played by Jesse Williams).
If only life worked as prettily as that. While it may not
always go that way, we can forgive the movie its romantic tendencies, as the
intention is clearly to encourage us all to keep hoping for our dreams to come
true and to indulge in the fantasy of it all.
Carmen is now a drama student who strives to remain
backstage, safely away from the limelight, only to find herself cast in a
Shakespearian play. Carmen is also in love, with the object of her affection
being British actor Ian, played by Tom Wisdom, another young man fit for high
school girls’ reveries.
And lastly, Boho film student Tibby is as ironic and
wisecracking as ever but in love with fellow school film student Brian
(Leonardo Nam).
The supporting cast is impressive as well, with Blythe
Danner portraying Bridget’s southern grandmother; Kyle MacLachlan as theatrical
director in Carmen’s play; and Rachel Nichols (“Alias”) as the bad girl.
While each of the girls is struggling separately with her
own woes, they are ultimately brought together once more and the film predictably
yet pleasantly turns into an ode to friendship.
Three years later, interestingly enough, things have changed
somewhat behind the scenes. When the first movie was released, Alexis Bledel
was already famous for her “Gilmore Girls” series while Amber Tamblyn was well
appreciated for “Joan of Arcadia.” Nowadays, America Ferrera is a critics’
darling for her “Ugly Betty” series while Blake Lively is a crowd favorite due
to “Gossip Girl.”
The chemistry between them is nevertheless as palpable as
ever.
“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2”
Opens nationwide Friday, August 6.
Rating: PG-13 (for some mature material)
Directed by: Sanaa Hamri
Cast: Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera and Blake Lively
Writer: Elizabeth Chandler
Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes
