Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants - movie review

It is said that if you find a pair of pants that fit, then you should buy mutiple pairs. If you happen across a pair of magical pants, then you should take them travelling. And so the premise of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants is established as four diverse friends face their first summer apart and use the sharing of a pair of jeans as the link to each other.

I was not originally interested in seeing the Pants as I had not read the book and was unsure about the level of teenness that might pollute the picture. However, with a free pass to spare and a series of good reviews, I took the chance. Like that article of clothing that you bought on a whim and now it is your favourite, this sisterhood flick is surprisingly satisfying.

The majority of its charm comes from a core ensemble that is well constructed. The most notable members are TV regulars Alexis Bledel (from "Gilmore Girls") and Amber Tamblyn (from "Joan of Arcadia") who play esssentially movie-ized versions of their small screen personas. In other words, they have elevated their respective prime time characters into strong film heroines. And as the shy beauty (Bledel - whose eyes are incredible!) and detached alterantive (Tamblyn - with fabulous blue hair streaks!), both girls provide solid anchors to the quartet both in the script and in performance.

Blake Lively tackles the challenge of a lost young woman wrestling with fear and inner spirit with inspiring naturalness. And I reckon it will not be long before the tall and toned gal with the golden mane will be gracing Maxim and FHM covers. The final element is a true gift in the talented hands of America Ferrera (who came to notice first in Real Women Have Curves - which I have not seen but am now inspired to watch) who is required to deliver some of the more emotionally-charged scenes. She is a perfect fit that never rings false.

I will not go into details of the various story arcs that are woven together to build a tale of growth, love, faith, awareness and friendship - part of the joy of the film is seeing them develop. But there are boys and romances, families and heartaches, introductions and losses. The movie is an adaptation of the best-selling teen novel of the same title and is capably translated to the screen by the less famous Ephron (Delia), thereby safeguarding it from schmaltzification (common with her sister Nora - i.e. Sleepless in Seattle!)

In the end, the tailoring of these Pants is guaranteed to fit a wide audience.