3.5 stars (out of five). Rating: PG-13, for some sensuality
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 8.7.08
Buy DVD: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• Buy Blu-Ray: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 [Blu-ray]
Earlier this summer, plenty of fans couldn't wait to be re-united with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.
I'm just as pleased to spend more time with Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget.
 |
| As the summer following their first year at college draws to a close, events bring these four best friends — from left, Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), Lena (Alexis Bledel), Carmen (America Ferrera) and Bridget (Blake Lively) — to the swooningly romantic Mediterranean island of Santorini, where Lena spent such a pivotal time with her Greek grandparents in the first film. |
The young heroines of Ann Brashares' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants novels
made an engaging leap to the big screen in 2005, in a sweet little film
that featured respectable work by rising young stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and Blake Lively. At the time, Bledel and Tamblyn were the ones with highly visible careers, on TV's Gilmore Girls
and Joan of Arcadia
.Interesting, then, how things change in three years. Gilmore Girls is no more, and Bledel's face has become a bit less familiar; Tamblyn, perhaps the quartet's strongest actress, remains quite busy with indie film projects. On the other hand, both Ferrera and Lively have become the stars of the moment, thanks to Ugly Betty
and Gossip Girl
.All of which makes this reunion even more special, because it's unusual for a sequel to attract all its major and supporting players.
I'm also pleased with the approach adopted by new director Sanaa Hamri, taking over for Ken Kwapis. (Screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler worked on both films, although she solos here, having shared credit with Delia Ephron on the first.) Kwapis' approach was a bit too light and frothy, as perhaps was more suited to the first film's focus on flirtations and first love.
The tone is somewhat more serious this time, as established relationships hit the skids and the girls' diverging personalities threaten to destroy the closely knit bond that has held them since childhood. Hamri respects these more serious elements; her film is not marred by (for example) the frivolous and frequent pop song montages that Kwapis employed to excess.
One could argue that this is a revealing distinction between how a male director views young female relationships, and how this same concept is treated by a female director.
Hamri, making her big-screen film debut, is to be congratulated; her approach is noticeably more mature.
The only niggling problem is the relentless forward march of time. All four actresses looked just barely right in the first film, as 16-year-olds (and it was a push for at least two of them). But now they definitely look a bit too old to play 19.
Ah, well. Nothing new in Hollywood. And putting that issue aside, it's remarkably easy to once more become immersed in the lives of these characters.
