`Pants 2' upbeat, buoyant.

Byline: Daniel M. Kimmel

COLUMN: MOVIE REVIEW

Being a man at "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" might be like being a woman at a Three Stooges festival. It's not against the law, but it's certainly swimming against the tide. This sequel to the first "Traveling Pants" movie in 2005 is pretty much what its fans expect: the intertwined stories of four friends united by a magical pair of jeans.

Unlike the first film, the pants themselves - which perfectly fit the four very differently shaped and sized friends - play a very small role, returning to the story line about the time you've probably forgotten about them. It's a gimmick, of course, invented by Ann Brashares for her novels, an excuse to tell four stories for the price of one. At this point you're more invested in the characters and don't really need the gimmick.

The film, apparently based on the fourth book in the series, picks up with the four girlfriends now in college. Carmen (America Ferrera) is at Yale studying drama, but mostly working backstage. She spends the summer with a theater company in Vermont expecting to do the same, but finds the company's leading man (Tom Wisdom) has other ideas. Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), a film student at NYU, is still involved with Brian (Leonardo Nam). Complications ensue, and Tibby's own fears may ruin the relationship. Meanwhile, Bridget (Blake Lively), still getting over the death of her mother, tries to make sense of history - her own and others - while on an archeological dig in Turkey. As for Lena (Alexis Bledel), her dream romance with Kostos (Michael Rady) may be over, but a new relationship may be blossoming with Leo (Jesse Williams), whom she met at the Rhode Island School of Design.

In short, this is a soap opera, where we're concerned with the loves - both romantic and familial - of the characters. Since they're played with such winsome charm by the four actresses (even Tamblyn's punky film student turns out to be a softy), it's hard not to root for them. Some veteran performers show up along the way, including Kyle McLachlan as a pompous theater director and Shohreh Aghdashloo as an archaeologist. In a poignant turn, Blythe Danner appears all too briefly as Bridget's grandmother, cut off from the family by her father.

Perhaps the nicest thing is what the film says about friendship. The four women are going their separate ways and it's not always easy for them to recapture the bonds they felt when they were in high school together. A scene where they don't perform an old ceremonial ritual quietly acknowledges that people grow older and can grow apart. Yet, if they really care about their friendships, those changes are challenges, not barriers. The result is a much better film about female bonding than, say, "Sex and the City."

Teenage girls (and women getting in touch with their inner teenager) will have a fine time at "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." Just don't try to drag your boyfriends or husbands along.

`The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2'

* *-1/2

A Warner Bros. Pictures release

Rating: PG-13 for mature material and sensuality

Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes

Key to the Stars

* * * * ... Hot Stuff

* * * ... Good Job

* * ... Not Bad

* ... Never Mind

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Blake Lively in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2."