The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

The movie was pretty boring. Girls who are incredibly different and who talk with tremendous disrespect toward each other. I don't believe their friendship.

The sequel "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants2", by director Sanaa Hamri, places us again in front of young Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), Lena (Alexis Bledel), Carmen (America Ferrera) and Bridget (Blake Lively). Three years have passed since we last met them, so, although they keep the same pact as always, we realize that the distance affected the connection they had and, as a result, the friendship was a little different - despite that they maintain the same affection they always have for each other and that certainty, deep inside, that they are there for whatever happens, regardless of what happens.

Bridget has been accepted and will spend the summer on an archaeological dig in Turkey. She will discover that archeology is not just about finding bones, as each person has had a past, and that despite the losses, we have to admire what is left, what resists. And she will discover secrets from the past that will make her understand her father and her relationship with him better, and that even after they leave, they have power over us and that it is time to stop fleeing the past. Carmen is dedicated to the creative world of summer theater in Vermont where she works behind the scenes, and is invited by her friend theater actress Julia (Rachel Nichols). There she will get involved with a young Englishman and with her help, even though she was upset at first, she will discover that she was born to act. She also accompanies the pregnancy of her remarried mother from afar. Lena discovers a new and an old love at the Rhode Island School of Design. After breaking up with Kostos and finding out that he is married and with a pregnant wife, Lena goes back to college and during classes ends up getting involved with a new love, who is also an artist. Lena will have to face an important choice between the two. Tibby is working at a video store and taking a big step in her relationship with Brian, whom she has been dating for ten months. After an unexpected event in their relationship, she decides to end it all. And she has yet to see Lena's younger sister, Effie (Lucy Hale), start dating him. Tibby will have to lean on her friends again and realize that not everyone she gets involved with and cares about will get out of her life.

The plot basically follows the same formula as the previous film, merging the plots in order not to let the rhythm get lost and it works again. However, the feeling we have is of little evolution of the characters. What we see is basically a continuation of the previous feature, with the same dilemmas. As it happened in the first film, the script is very generous in the sense of offering the four young actresses enough material so that the subplots involving their characters can hold our attention. However, the conflicts they experience are almost the same as in the first feature. Libby continues to struggle with her fear of giving herself over to happiness and the people who come into her life. Carmen continues to deal with changes around her. Lena continues with her romantic encounters. Bridget also continues to experience the same family problems. Jeans, now, poor thing, suffers from the disdain of their four owners. It is comforting to be able to watch a film about adolescence that, for a change, sounds adult and really has something to say - and even better - is about authentic human emotions and experiences, transmitting not only values, but genuine fun. It is in this definition that - like its even superior predecessor - this admirable "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants2" fits in, living up to their characters and not losing focus by continuing to follow the experiences of these four girls as essential adventures. If the first film talked about maturity, this is about finding yourself. Screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler, who as already said, had the arduous task of adapting three books into one film. It is inevitable, therefore, to feel some irregularity, and the feeling is not as fresh as it was the first time, but the values have remained, and the heart in the right place, together with good intentions, end up winning you over, especially when you can be infected by good humor and the rewarding cast.

Although the sequel still brings good chemistry among the four teenagers and reserves good times for the supporting cast, it is noted that screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler, the same as in the original drama, is not very comfortable when condensing practically three novels for a single script and that the filmmaker Sanaa Hamri does not impose the same dynamics as Ken Kwapis, making the distance between the four central characters not to show any emotion due to the various encounters and disagreements that he sets throughout the film. This causes the story to develop with some problems, covering a larger space for situations of romantic relationships and less for reflections on the question of the value of friendship and the fascinating discoveries they will go through.

As in the previous film, the four stories of the girls are uneven. Again, the plots of Bridget and Lena are the most uninteresting and predictable, repeating what has been shown before, only unfolding new events that will help them to overcome past traumas and move on. Carmen and Tibby once again present the best stories, with the first finding its place in the world when he least expected it and the second transforming, allowing himself to be trusted, to trust people more and to realize that not everyone he loves will leave his life. Unlike the previous film, they now spend more time apart, even though at various times we realize that a distress call is enough for the friend to be ready to do what is necessary to help. For a film with so many parallel stories to work fully, all of them must be equally interesting and hold the viewer from beginning to end, in addition to always being intertwined organically. These inconsistencies, slightly larger than in the previous film, hinder the pace of the narrative, but still do not detract from its quality.

The cast, by the way, emerges as one of the strengths of the film, whose rhythm or even authenticity is differently raised by the skill of the actors. The four main actresses all seem to mature and, once again, the highlight is America Ferrera (Under the Same Moon), a young actress whose eyes are undeniable. But Amber Tamblyn (The Scream 2) surprises and is not left behind, her character is the most interesting. Blake Lively (Approved) and Alexis Bledel (Sin City - Sin City) follow, both equally convincing. The most interesting thing is to be able to delight with some very worthy supporting actors in great roles, like Blythe Danner (One More Kiss), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Jesus - The Birth Story) and Kyle MacLachlan (Touch of Rose), all with small roles, but interesting enough, managing to extract small but expressive performances from them. Everyone here contributes a lot to the functioning and design of the film, extolling the sense of realism and leaving plausible dialogues and scenes once displaced.

Once again we see real conflicts and limit situations for the age of the characters and this is what makes us identify with the work, which is made for women but pleases all audiences. These are pertinent issues for everyone, especially teenagers in their discovery phase. That is why it is essential to see the previous film, as much of the strength of the two films comes from this connection between the friends and how they will now react to new challenges. The work may touch on very real (and always urgent) conflicts, have characters with whom we identify and sympathize formidably and convey certain lessons and certain values, but it is often noticeable an oscillation of uncompromised climate to a densely more serious one, depending on sounding even at times superficial. It is a mistake, fortunately, made a few times and, in general, the film has the charm and dignity to conquer and comfortably engage the audience in the hard-hitting stories of these girls, whose roads prove to be very essential and whose end is built with great competence by the script, conducted still lightly and vividly by Sanaa Hamri (in her second film), a filmmaker who, despite sins, understands the nature and feeling of the story and knows that, even if it is a drama with psychological and emotional conflicts in serious times, you always need a good dose of humor, an uncompromised atmosphere and that unique feeling of fun that is so similar to that of the characters themselves in their respective moments. With competence she explored the drama, humor and beautiful landscapes with a film that, despite not innovating, maintains the same factors that made us love the first one so much. The film continues to thrill and remind us of the real value of friendship and teach us how to overcome obstacles along the way.

Part of the strength of this film is the feeling we have when we see the girls we fell in love with in the previous chapter undergoing new tests and challenges. And of course, it is worth seeing the original work, which is superior. It is also worth noting that, despite the good final result, the very competent cast, the beautiful look and the always admirable atmosphere, it is an imperfect film, with rounds, clichés and occasional moments of predictability. So it's great to see that these defects are elegantly overcome by a team simply committed to telling the story of these girls' friendship, and the power that this story can exercise is formidable. Just open up and accept it.

In the first adaptation of Ann Brashares's famous novel series, soap-opera clichés and predictable story lines were defeated by the sheer charm of the characters and their relationships with one another. And whereas that film dealt with the transition to womanhood and celebrating feminine diversity, the sequel fits our young heroines into contrived, "after-school" special story lines that end exactly the way you'd expect them to. The first film is by no means a masterpiece, but there was a genuine sense that these characters were real and thus we could relate to their plights.

There are some moments in the sequel that shine, most of them occurring when the four titular characters are together, but so much time is spent on filler plots and unnecessary contrivances that the film simply gets old too quickly. Alexis Bledel and Blake Lively don't do much to make their characters any more believable or human; they have no personality and thus their individual story lines are rendered even weaker. Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera do the opposite, and bring their characters to life, against the odds of the mediocre script. There's also some impressive input from supporting performances, such as the great Blythe Danner and the heartfelt Shohreh Aghdashloo. All in all, a disappointment considering the first film, but still a somewhat worthy escape with four friends who, in the end, above all things, value one another more than anything else in the world.

The next chapter in the tale of the denim divas follows them to all corners of the earth, but separately. Each of the girls leaves for the summer to follow their own path, their own heart and where it takes them is not always right along side each other. One goes to drama camp to find out her place in the theater might not be behind the curtains at all, while another goes to art school only to find drawing passion and heart can't be done when the artist has closed hers off. One more girl learns the past is only as far your last conversation with someone you care about, while lastly another finds looking into the future is more frightening when you imagine it alone. Each young woman travels their own road and this story is how they find themselves and each other once again along the way.

After reading all that it might feel like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 has stuffed way too much into those wildly decorated jeans, but the movie shows itself to be a great example of intelligent and accomplished editing. Each storyline is touched on, taken in and then moved on from with impeccable timing, never overstaying its welcome and never leaving the audience wondering what was going on with the rest of the girls. Everyone is granted a wealth of screen time and that passes on to the viewer a level of visual respect, so we can decide for ourselves which person we want to route for (if not all of them, which in my case, it wasn't, but I'll get to that later). Credit is assuredly given to the director, Sanaa Hamri, for her work, but I want to lend a special round of digital applause to the editor, Melissa Kent, for really keeping a well balanced performance intact for everyone involved.

About those performances, let's take a closer look at the set up and how it differs from the first time these pants made their appearance on the silver screen. We have four young up-and-coming actresses in Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera. When the first movie came out Alexis was riding high on the back of Gilmore Girls mania, while Amber had recently enjoyed critical acclaim in her starring turn on Joan of Arcadia (although not the public rating support that usually accompanies such high reviews). This time around, Alexis and Amber have taken a back seat to the Emmy and Golden Globe winning America Ferrera from the critic's wonder darling, Ugly Betty and the hype/buzz machine powerhouse of Blake Lively and her adolescent hormone extravaganza, Gossip Girl. Behind the scenes the dynamic may have changed, but on screen you would never know how far things had shifted. There is a palpable level of camaraderie between these four young girls, but how far that lasts when the cameras are off is hard to tell. Personally, the two current headliners, Blake and America, stole the show with their respective performances, especially Blake, while Alexis held her own and Amber fell a little flat. Part of Amber's problem is she has the character with the least reason to support her. For most of the movie she is grumpy, frumpy and bordering on goth. While each of the other girls are stretching and reaching out, Amber's character is retreating inward, causing a slight disconnect with the rest of the pack. On the other side of the gender line, there are the men in the picture. No teen chick flick is complete without the heartthrob young men to make the girls swoon, but in most stories there are also the jerks and brutish young punks who hurt or disappoint the girls first, which sends them running to the male best friend who they never looked at in that way before, but they see, and so on and so on. In this story I felt a little break in that belief in the world it created because every guy in the film was perfect. They were all total gentlemen, caring, sensitive, bursting with charm, and to top it all off most of them looked they had just walked out of the gym after a 24-hour work out bender (all except for Blake's dad, which can be excused in this case). The only reason this stood out as a problem for me was they had every guy throwing themselves at their feet, so their only real problem was with themselves, and that makes for very few hurdles to jump over which are not self-imposed.

In the end the movie is enjoyable and the people in the crowd I was a part of all had their share of cheering moments. It's a chick flick in its purest form, but that doesn't mean all the boyfriends and best friends out there have to moan and groan when they get dragged to it. The theater experience really doesn't bring anything special to it, so you guys out there might even be safe until DVD release, but once that comes, you better find yourself a comfy pillow on the couch because you can be sure this will get heavy rotation.

p.s. My friend would be remiss if I didn't mention her issue with the casting of the male model character in Alexis Bledel's story arc. Not a bad actor at all, but she got the vibe he (or his character) wasn't really into Alexis, or her character, or her gender… Oh SNAP! And I would be remiss not to mention that since this is a sequel with no sub-title it will forever be known to me as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: Electic Boogaloo.

I feel this movie was really good. I remember when the first one came out and I was like, so lame. I eventually came around and saw it but it was okay. When I heard they were making a second one I was really happy. I think this movie had a lot of variety. At one point you would think it was going to end and then it started up again with drama. I think all of the girls are amazing in this and I like that the movie wasn't generic. I noticed there were some plot twists that could have gone the usual way in that the characters win but it wasn't always like this. I give the movie a nine compared to the eh, 7 I would give to the first.