DVD Review: 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2'

Comments 0

Published: November 28, 2008

In this photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures., castmembers, from left, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Blake Lively are shown in a scene from, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Phil Caruso)

"Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2”

Sanaa Hamri’s "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” does not sully the 2005 hit film or novelist Ann Brashares’ series, but this second installment in the interconnected lives of Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), Carmen (America Ferrera), Lena (Alexis Bledel) and Bridget (Blake Lively) includes few surprises on the pants’ second world tour. This slight stasis in the storyline is compensated by the chemistry of the actors, who exude a believable bond among lifelong friends.

This "Sisterhood” pans between Tibby’s pregnancy crisis, Carmen’s chance at a role in "The Winter’s Tale,” Bridget’s Turkish archaeological dig and eventual reunion with her grandmother (Blythe Danner), and Lena’s ongoing romantic travails with Kostas (Michael Rady) and budding romance with her sketch model Leo (Jesse Williams). This is the light melodrama fans of the series expect, but too much plot of little consequence is crammed into "Pants 2.”

Perhaps knowing this would be the last chance to get these actors together, Hamri and screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler shoehorned elements from all three of Brashares’ follow-up books, so fans of the books are likely to be disenfranchised by the hopscotch between novels. But all four actresses believably present well-rounded and mostly admirable personas, and that counts for something when "Gossip Girl” and "The Hills” are the other options.

— George Lang