Greetings,
Hey, wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me that you can have a story with not two, not three, but FOUR females having a strong friendship where they genuinely care about and love each other, and occasionally have disagreements, but only over things that warrant said disagreements, not just because they need to be catty, because "Women! Am I right?", whilst still maintaining a powerful connection as friends, or, dare I say it, sisters? So, anyway, I like this movie. And I liked the first one. As my rant stated, both films were a great example that women can be actual, legit friends, not just the popular "frenemies". Interesting, considering one of the actresses in these things. However, today, we are only talking about one of the films, the sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 2: Secret of the Blues. Okay, fine. That second part is just what I would have added. I really need to find a job as a professional title maker. Anyway, let's get started.
The second cinematic installment of the "Traveling Pants" saga takes place three years after the first, since the four friends Carmen (America Ferrara), Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) Lena (Alexis Bledel) and Bridget (Blake Lively) came across the magical pants that somehow fit all of them. This time around, after a quick montage of what they have all been up to over the years, we learn that they are now all finishing up their first year at college. Colleges that spread them all over the place, mind you. And now they are all coming home for the summer to Bethesda to resume the tradition of sharing the pants. Or so Carmen thinks. Turns out, though, that they are all going to be separated again to go off on some adventures. Tibby has to stay in NYC for some kind of summer school, Lena takes a drawing class in Rhode Island, Bridget heads to Turkey for archeology, then Alabama for other reasons, and Carmen, on a whim, goes to Vermont for a theater workshop.
Like with the first film, we follow each girl with whatever she is doing, switching back and forth every so often. I have to say, before I saw the first film and only heard about this method, I was worried. I thought I would feel too flip-flopped around, not being able to get invested in any story. Well, this sequel, just like the first movie, did a very good job with making you feel like you're getting all the stories equally and just enough at a time. No confusion as I feared. I also like that they let the girls grow up just as much as you'd expect them to be. They weren't acting older or younger than their characters were supposed to be. So, again, just right.
Throughout the summer, several things happen to the girls individually, much like before. On this go round, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen are dealing with issues concerning guys, from somewhat to majorly, whilst Bridget is more dealing with family issues. So, the structure has remained the same, but what fills up the time are all new stories. And since we have new stories, we have a few new characters, as well as some returning ones, which means new and returning actors. Leonardo Nam, Michael Rady, Rachel Ticotin and Ernie Lively all come back, and we get, for the first time, a bunch of other actors, including Lucy Hale, Jesse Williams, Tom Wisdom, Rachel Nichols, the legendary Blythe Danner, the always awesome Kyle MacLachlan, and Shohreh Aghdashloo, who might have the most amazing speaking voice in the history of vocal activity. Yes, I enjoyed this supporting cast verily.
Anyway, though we do follow the four girls through their individual trials of life, one pretty big thing happens to all of them. So, technically, they are forced back together close to the end, but it doesn't FEEL forced, which is the most important thing in these situations. And we all get to go to a beautiful location once again. Honestly, I love the ending of this movie, which I will not give away, of course. I just think the short monologue in the final moments really does say some downright perfect things about friendship and growing up. And isn't that what the story of these girls is truly about?
So, some of you may be wondering, since I love books so much, if I've ever read these books. Well, no, but I would certainly like to do so someday. Now, concerning those books, there is one thing that I always wondered. As it happens, while the first film is based on the first book alone, the second film is based on the second, third and fourth books, combined. I've always wondered how the fans felt about that. If they would rather have had three separate movies, or if they were happy with this. Frankly, if they were disappointed, I'd just tell them to count their blessings and prepare themselves for the adaptations to come. You know, when we switch from condensing three books into one movie to expanding one book to three movies! Darn you, Hobbit! I'll never get those 87 hours of my life back! Anyway...
Bottom line, as I said, I like this movie, and I think I like it more than the first. I just feel like it has more story and the characters are more developed, dealing with far more grown up issues. Maybe that's because of the "three books squished into one" thing, or it could just be some good adaptation writing. Either way, if you like a good movie, specifically a (I hate to say this!) chick flick, this one as well as its predecessor, are some great picks.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
