The Sisterhood od the Traveling Pants 2 (2008)
Directed by Sanaa Hamri
Written by Elizabeth Chander
Starring America Ferrara, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel
Release Date August 6th, 2008
Published August 5th, 2008
Society dictates that a 32 year old man is not supposed to enjoy a movie called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. And yet, there I was in 2005 watching four exceptional young actresses navigate the adolescent angst that only a teenage girl can truly understand and I was moved. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was sweet and funny with a great big heart and I loved that about it.
For all of its melodramatic faults, it was a film of great understanding and warmth. The sequel, unimaginatively titled Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, directed by Sanaa Hamri, is like the original filled with warmth, heart and humor and once again I was moved.
Picking up three years after where the original left off, the sisterhood is now split up at different colleges, in different cities. This hasn't stopped them from frequently returning home to visit and bond over the magic pair of jeans that fits all four of them and brings them good luck just when they need it. Leading the pants parade is Carmen (America Ferrara) who clings to the pants and the sisterhood as her chaotic family moves into a new home with her mom expecting a new baby with her new husband.
Pulling away ever so slightly from her sisters is Tibby (Amber Tamblyn). Off to New York for film school, Tibby is growing tired of the rituals of the pants, though has no less love for her sisters. Also adrift in her own angst is Bridget (Blake Lively) who passes on summer at home with her friends and single dad, for a trip to Turkey and an archaeological dig. There she meets a professor (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who reminds her of the mother she never had.
As for Lena, freshly returned from another trip to Greece, she has broken up with her long distance boyfriend Kostos (Michael Rady) and moved on to a fellow art student named Leo (Jesse Williams). Their meet cute provides Bledel with her funniest scenes. Of course if you think Kostos goes away quietly, clearly you haven't seen the trailer which shows all four girls in Greece.
Though divided, the sisterhood is strong and you are never under the impression that they will be apart for long. Director Sanaa Hamri, taking over for Ken Kwapis who directed the charming first film, does a tremendous job of balancing a number of new characters, like Tibby's boyfriend Brian played by Leonardo Nam, and still finds plenty of time to tell each girl's individual stories.
Sometimes it is the simplest pleasures that are the greatest of pleasures. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is very simple. This is formula melodrama at its most obvious yet entertaining and engaging. Sure, there is nothing here you haven't seen before but it's done better here, with more care and skill and with a great deal more heart than similar formula movies.
Arguably the most engaging and moving scenes involve Blake Lively the young star of the new TV hit Gossip Girl. Lively was less of a presence in the original where her character was defined by being whiny and sexually precocious. A few years on and Lively has flowered into a strong beautiful, talented young woman and the character of Bridget reflects that.
As the closed minded dismiss The Sisterhood of the Traveling pants 2, I appeal to you to see the movie for the scenes between Lively and the formidable Blythe Danner alone. These scenes are some of the most moving moments in any movie this year. I kid you not, the circumstances involved combined with the skills of these two wonderful actresses will move many audiences to unexpected degrees.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 will not be mistaken for great cinema but as fun, entertaining, even moving, melodrama it's pretty terrific. Four exceptional young actresses, the future of Hollywood, and a rising star director craft a movie that hits its marks perfectly and nails every formulaic scene necessary to propel the audience where it wants to go.
Nakedly manipulative? Maybe, but what modest melodrama isn't. If the manipulation is this pleasant and heart warming, who cares?
