'PANTS' A GREAT FIT FOR TEENS, ADULTS.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic `THE SISTERHOOD sisterhood: see monasticism. of the Traveling Pants'' asks us to buy a lot. For instance, that four girls of very different temperaments would remain the tightest of friends for 16 years, just because their mothers (who don't appear to have kept in touch) met in the same exercise class when they were all pregnant. Also, that the teenage pals would find one pair of blue jeans blue jeans also blue·jeans pl.n. Clothes, especially pants, made of blue denim. blue jeans npl → tejanos mpl; vaqueros mpl that would fit each of them - wispy wisp n. 1. A small bunch or bundle, as of straw, hair, or grass. 2. a. One that is thin, frail, or slight. b. A thin or faint streak or fragment, as of smoke or clouds. 3. artist Lena (Alexis Bledel), full-figured writer Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. (America Ferrera), towering athlete Bridget (Blake Lively) and depressively droopy droop v. drooped, droop·ing, droops v.intr. 1. To bend or hang downward: "His mouth drooped sadly, pulled down, no doubt, by the plump weight of his jowls" video maker Tibby (Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American actress and poet. She came to fame on the soap opera General Hospital followed by a starring role on the television series Joan of Arcadia. - perfectly). Then there's the Romeo-and-Juliet-meet-Zorba-the-Greek stuff - and the business involving a terminal disease. But whatever sounds hard-to-swallow or old hat on paper (which may be the wrong term to use, as Ann Brashares' source novel has a big, passionate and presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. above-average intelligent following) plays rather winningly on screen. The actresses gear into their characters' needs and personalities with strong as well as subtle conviction. And while this is basically a soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. , it's a high-functioning one that puts a premium on emotional credibility and growth. And there's some fun in the sun. The deal here is that, for the first time in their lives, the quartet is splitting up for the summer. Timid Lena goes to visit her grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl on the Aegean isle of Santorini, where the life-loving Costas (Michael Rady) teaches her to loosen up. A world away, a forward Bridget tries to get physical with the cute college-boy coach at her all-girls soccer camp in Baja. Child of divorce Carmen has been looking forward to spending the summer with her dad (``The West Wing's'' Bradley Whitford) in picturesque Charleston, S.C. - but he doesn't tell her until she arrives that he's about to marry a very Anglo woman with two extremely blond children of her own. And bitter that she's the only one staying behind in dreary Bethesda, Md., punky punk·y n. Variant of punkie. Noun 1. punky - minute two-winged insect that sucks the blood of mammals and birds and other insects biting midge, no-see-um, punkey, punkie Tibby decides to make a ``suckumentary'' about all the losers in town. When really annoying 'tween Bailey (Jenna Boyd, who steals the show from the formidable older actresses) attaches herself to Tibby's project, things couldn't possibly get any worse. They do, but in the most heart-opening way. The buds stay in touch by sending the magical pants from one to another every week or so, along with reports about their adventures and expressions of moral support. When some of them get back together, there's the occasional fight, but it's a refreshingly real one, the kind that happens between people who know another person better than they do themselves and care enough to speak hard truths and forgive quickly. Delia Ephron (``You've Got Mail'') and Elizabeth Chandler (``What a Girl Wants,'' ``A Little Princess'') wrote the slick adaptation, which somehow avoids emphasizing the kind of fantasy factors that were foregrounded in their earlier scripts. Ken Kwapis has a much more distinguished television resume (``The Office,'' ``Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm in the Middle is a seven-time Emmy-winning,[1] one-time Grammy-winning[1] and seven-time Golden Globe-nominated[1] American sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. ,'' ``The Bernie Mac Show'') than he does as a film director (``Vibes,'' ``He Said, She Said,'' ``Dunston Checks In''). Somehow, though, all the talents involved have risen to present these girls' stories as seriously as they need to be, while not forgetting that friendship dies unless you can have a little fun, too. ``Traveling Pants'' is smart summer entertainment that you don't need to be a teenage girl to appreciate. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Three stars (PG: sexual situations, children in jeopardy, racism) Starring: Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Jenna Boyd, Bradley Whitford, Michael Rady. Director: Ken Kwapis. Running time: 1 hr. 53 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: Four lifelong best friends spend their first summer apart in this thoughtful, if derivative, adaptation of the best-selling teen novel. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: America Ferrera, left, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn portray teenagers who are about to have their bonds of friendship tested in ``Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.'' |
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