Movie Review:
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Rated by 6 members
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature material and sensuality
Recommended for ages 13 and up
Run Time: 117 minutes
Quick Take: Teens will want a shot at a Sisterhood membership card -- and those fantastic jeans -- after this sequel.
A Great Teen Terkjerker, Without All the Jerks
Call me a sucker for a good tearjerker.
When the original Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants made it to the big screen in 2005, watching Carmen reunite with her long-estranged father ... yup, that was me ... a happy puddle of mush. Don't even get me started on the death of Bailey.
Well, pop open the tissues -- the girls are back in town.
Three years after their denim-clad debut, Bridget, Carmen, Lena and Tibby have returned in the sequel older, wiser, still sharing the same pair of jeans (and, oh, how young girls will want to get their hands on these now funkily decorated denims) and tugging heartstrings anew. It's lovely, sentimental, and funny on a heartfelt happy/sad/happy ride.
In a cinema full of mean girls, the denim-clad fab four stands out as a rare, refreshing entity. Beautiful, brainy, and blessed, the four glow with that oh-so-rare quality in today's teen movie characters: They're nice! (Texas cheerleader scandal, anyone?) Sure, they're enjoying some pretty spectacular living. (Quick! Somebody send me and my friends to the Greek Islands!) And, yes, they're lavished with the affections of some pretty magnificent young men. "Can I be one of the Sisterhood?" sighed a young girl in the audience.
But if their lives are extraordinary, what makes the Sisterhood so affecting is the ordinariness of their woes. Woven between the gorgeous guys and starring roles are moments we all know: The stab when a crush prefers somebody else. The split-second decision when you'd give anything for a do-over. The young actresses play these moments so viscerally, you'll want to get up and hug them ... or at least hug the person next to you. Life lessons come fast and furiously, and there's a tendency for repeated platitudes (as in, "No one can diminish you but yourself," true as it may be), but it's a minor quibble. And, far be it from me to bash important messages bestowed on impressionable teenaged girls.
Still, friendship warms the screen like the sun on that Greek Island. During one of the film's final moments, three of the friends rally around the fourth, absolutely and unequivocally united in support of their pal. The inescapable conclusion: we should all have friends like that. In a cinema full of girls behaving badly, it's a nice place to be.
And, that makes me smile.
Even while I'm crying.
Kids Will Like:
There's "guy candy" aplenty, no doubt to appeal to the predominantly (probably exclusively) female audience. Girl power is unapologetically evident, and even young girls should appreciate the Sisterhood's forthright, full-speed-ahead approach. Lena's face during figure-drawing class will make girls laugh ... and blush. The pants -- now decorated with art bestowed by each girl -- are spectacular. Girls will want to go home and decorate their own. Tibby, with her slightly dark side, is always good for some stellar one-liners. Julia, one of the flick's few bad girls, nets cheers when she finally gets her comeuppance. Romance and happily-ever-afters make it a much-appreciated fairy tale.
Parents Will Like:
Girlfriend humor and bonding appeals to girls of any age. There are a lot of great lines, too. Watching Carmen, heretofore the "plain" one (and, let me just say, America Ferrara positively glows) leave her Summer Stock co-star smitten and speechless is a moment we all wish for our own daughters. As for Tibby -- she proves herself to be one brave chick. Truth be told, this is a movie about teenage girls that can really be enjoyed by an adult audience. I've heard from women in their 20s and beyond eagerly awaiting the second Sisterhood.
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