BUY IT AT AMAZON: STUDIO: Warner Home Video
MSRP: $20.99
RATED: PG-13
RUNNING TIME: 119 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Go Jump Off a Cliff featurette
Deleted scenes
Gag reel
The Pitch
America calls on the Sisterhood once more.
The Humans
Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Blythe Danner and Blake Lively
The Nutshell
In 2005, Warner Brothers introduced the world to the first Sisterhood adventure. Based upon the Young Adult novels by Ann Brashares, we find that the four girls have gone even further along their own ways. Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is trying to make it in New York, but she’s run into a snag. Lena (Alexis Bledel) is back in Greece reconnecting with her heritage. Carmen (America Ferrara) is working in the exciting world of Summerstock Theater. Then, there’s the final sister Bridget (Blake Lively) who is working at an archaeological dig in Turkey. Everything is looking up until the pants disappear.
Here’s something for the Talkbackers. Tell me what you would do to her, but you can’t use the letter I.
The Lowdown
HBO helped me to discover the first film through repeat viewings. That’s why I was actually excited to see the second film. Not excited in that standing in-line during the summer to watch it way. It’s closer to that sense of fascination you have when you remember a film while in the middle of the video store. Does that even happen for people anymore? I guess you can apply that to updating your Netflix queue. See how that grabs you.
Bonus points: Make Your Own Caption about Amber Tamblyn looking like an Uggo here.
The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants 2 is one of those sequels that forgets where it originated. The first film was alive and you felt the distance between the friends. Now, everyone seems stowed away on artificial sets, as they work out their plots. Then, there’s the stuff with Bridget coming to terms with her mother’s death. It’s such a recycling of the first film, that I almost expected a soccer sequence thrown in for good measure. But, they decided to cut away from that to give some time to Blythe Danner.
No, dear boy. Lauren and I never threw down and decided to munch box on the set. But, she taught me the secret art of blur hand.
What made the film work was the attention paid to Amber Tamblyn’s storyline. Tibby grows the most, as she comes to realize that growing up has consequences. The bitter young woman of the first film is giving away to the fully-realized adult that she has to be come in New York City. Especially when threatened with a boyfriend that might not be ready for the next step in their relationship. This works for me, as it’s the first time in the film that the subject material has broken out of Facebook territory and actually reached human development.
Sorry, guys. That’s the best you’re getting in a Girl Power flick.
What’s funny is seeing these girls at their collective peak. Following the success of Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty, a lot of these ladies have become in-demand talent. Nobody pulls any prima donna schtick to try and get the film to focus on them. It’s just that the issue of time constraints takes away from the time the ladies spend together. When you reach the Greek conclusion, it feels so contrived. Nobody earned their journey in this film, save for Amber Tamblyn.
Assembled together for one last mission.
It’s an issue I’ve been noticing a lot throughout the 2008 cinematic year. Has Hollywood forgotten that to have a successful narrative, it must go somewhere? The lack of direction has steered far more successful pictures into a dead-end. Hindsight is 20/20, but this rudderless action feels like it might’ve cost the Sisterhood a third outing. That might be welcome news to some of you, but if you have to give a Girl Power flick a chance…you could do a lot worse.
Final Fun Round: Photoshop this caption and show me what wacky thing you can insert into her left hand rather than that pesky cellphone.
Warner Brothers has assembled a fairly standard release. You get the standard digital copy forced into the mix, but there’s also some interesting special features. There’s a featurette on the cliff-diving sequence and there’s some decent deleted scenes. All and all, it’s not something you’re going to go out of your way to watch. But, it’s a fun film that can reach across the gender aisle. So, give it a rental.