DVD Reviews
DVD Review: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
By Patrick Luce
Oct 18, 2005, 18:54 GMT

Although it is a bit predictable from time to time, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a light hearted and enjoyable comedy/drama about four friends, and how they each experience life, with the help of a “magical” pair of pants, during a summer apart.

The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Ann Brashares, and stars Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn as the four friends.

The movie starts off with the group of friends, preparing to separate for the first time in their 16 years of life, buying a pair of jeans, which magically seem to fit all of them, and agreeing to send the jeans to each other throughout the summer.

During the summer, each of the girls makes some kind of journey that brings them to adulthood, and they also find that they can still lean on each other for support - even if they are miles apart.

Lena, played by Bledel, goes to spend the summer in Greece with her grandparents and soon finds herself in a romance that seems like something out of Romeo and Juliet. The shyest of the four friends, Lena finds herself finally letting her emotions go as she falls in love with a local fisherman home from college for the summer. This love is tested by the family feud between her grandfather and the boy’s grandfather.

Carmen, played by Ferrera, goes to spend the summer with her father in South Carolina, and discovers that he is about to get married again. This discovery throws her world in a spin as she struggles to find where she belongs in this new family that her father has created – complete with a Southern belle wife and her two blonde headed children.

Bridget, played by Lively, goes to Mexico to attend a soccer camp for girls, and finds herself in “love” with one of the young male coaches. During this camp, Bridget also has to find a way to deal with the loss of her mother, who committed suicide at the beginning of the film, and learns that she has to lean on her friends when times are hard.

Tibby, played by Tamblyn, stays home for the summer and gets a job working at the local Wallmans –a retail store that looks a lot like Wal-Mart. She also begins what she titles a “Suckumentary.” An accident at her job introduces Tibby to find an unusual friend named Bailey, played by Jenna Boyd. Bailey is 12-years-old and suffers from Leukemia. Bailey’s strength and positive attitude is a good foil for Tibby’s “life sucks” attitude, and the girl’s struggle with the disease teaches Tibby that you should always enjoy life.

The four friends each learn about life during a summer apart

I will say from the start that I have never read the book, but I did enjoy the movie. I thought each of the actresses did a great job in their roles, and it did seem like they were friends who had grown up together.<!--page-->

Carmen has to deal with her father's new marriage

The movie isn’t my normal favorite kind of genre, but it does have a lot of heart and charm that keep it interesting to watch from start to finish. Each of the girls experience some part of life that we can all identify with, and the way the four stories are separated and cut together works well in the film.

I would have liked a little more background on some of the girl’s parents. Except for Carmen’s and Tibby’s family, you never really learn anything about the other characters’ family members. This isn’t a huge flaw in the movie, but it would have added to the characters. We learn that Bridget’s father is rather distant, but they never really explain why, and Lena’s parents never even come into the film. This may not be the same way in the book, but it is something that lacked in the movie.

Although the movie is very good and has a lot of charm, I thought it was a bit predictable from time to time. We have seen this kind of movie before, in films like Stand By Me or even Now and Then, but that doesn’t keep the movie from being enjoyable or worth watching.

The DVD comes loaded with special features that fans of the movie or the book will enjoy. They include additional scenes; Fun on the set; Suckumentary; Sister, Secrets, and the Traveling Pants; and a Conversation with Brashares.

Tibby battles boredom working at a local retail store

The Suckumentary is probably the best of the special features, and gives you a little more insight into the Tibby character. It also gives some more background on the four friends and Bailey. It is a good addition to the DVD and something fans of the movie will enjoy.

Overall, I would recommend Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to anyone wanting to watch a good light-hearted and coming of age drama. It may not be for everyone and I am not sure how closely it followed the novel, but I enjoyed the movie. It has an interesting plot, and the four actresses do a great job in their roles.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the film’s database for more information.