Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
From left: Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively, America Ferrera, and Amber Tamblyn star in 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'. - CONTRIBUTED
THE SISTERHOOD of the Traveling Pants (despite the corny name) is a sweet, refreshing movie about love, friendship, family and growing up. It's a 'chick flick' and it has nothing to be ashamed of for being so. It's a story that women and girls can appreciate, without being too 'Lifetime movies' about it.
Directed by Ken Kwapis and based on the Ana Brashares novel, The Sisterhood starts out on quite a light-hearted note but by the halfway mark it goes for the heart strings, wraps them firmly around the fingers and then pulls hard. Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandler, screenplay writers, create a flick that moves quickly while capturing the nature of each girl, and Kwapis takes this beautifully to the visual realm.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a story about growing up and finding yourself. While it isn't quite Sex and the City: The Teenage Years, The Sisterhood is cut from the same cloth. The foursome in this case is Lena (Alexis Bledel), Bridget (Blake Lively), Carmen (America Ferrara) and Tibby (Amber Tamblyn). These four are on the cusp of womanhood and for the first time will be separated from each other.
On the eve of their separation they find a pair of pants that, despite their different body types, fits all of them perfectly and so they believe that it is magical. Of course, they would not be the only teenage girls to find magic in a pair of jeans, but then the magic of the jeans has little to do with why the story works, but it is a good metaphor for the mystical ties that bind women.
Each girl is quite different and has her own problems and hang- ups so that each strand of the story takes a very different spin, though they make a cohesive whole joined by both the movement of the pants and the directing. It makes use of standard female literature writing, and so, despite the technological age, the girls keep in touch by snail mail.
The movie is well cast. Bledel, as the very reserved Lena, plays a role she is quite used to as television's Rory on The Gilmore Girls. The character is essentially the same with the exception of the quick wit. Blake Lively beautifully captures the outgoing Bridget while Tibby is the girl who marches to the beat of her own drum, though sometimes she seems unable to hear the drummer.
Tibby's story brings in Jenna Boyd as Bailey, and allows for one of the most moving elements of the story. America Ferrara makes a great addition to the cast. As with her role in Real Women Have Curves, she highlights that a plump girl need not be ashamed of her figure.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants has the best aspects of the 'chick flick'. It is neither silly nor light-headed. The characters are real and well rounded, and it is not afraid of exploring the drama of the heart. It's a story in which women can enjoy the bonds they share, without shame, or thinking that all they do when together is gossip. It's about how friendships take you through life, even if it's sharing a pair of jeans that helps to hold you together. Simply put, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a beautiful story.
