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"THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS" (2005) (Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Minor Moderate Mild Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Heavy Heavy Mild QUICK TAKE: Drama: A magical pair of jeans connects four teenage friends who are spending the summer spread around the world and apart for the first time in their lives. PLOT: Teenagers Tabitha "Tibby" Tomko-Rollins (AMBER TAMBLYN), Bridget Vreeland (BLAKE LIVELY), Lena Kaligaris (ALEXIS BLEDEL) and Carmen Lowell (AMERICA FERRERA) have all been friends from the day they were born and have never been apart for too long. That's about to change this summer as the very confident and aggressive Bridget heads off to Baja California for soccer camp and sets her sights on soccer coach Eric Richman (MIKE VOGEL). Lena is off to Greece to spend the summer with her grandparents where she ends up being rescued by Kostos (MICHAEL RADY), the grandson of a man with whom Lena's grandfather has feuded for years. Carmen, who lives with her mom (RACHEL TICOTIN) is off to Charleston to spend time with her father, Al (BRADLEY WHITFORD) who she's barely seen since he left her and her mom years ago. Carmen's hopes of having him all to herself are shattered when she learns that he's about to marry Lydia (NANCY TRAVIS) who has two teenage kids of her own, Krista (EMILY TENNANT) and Paul (KYLE SCHMID). Tibby, meanwhile, is the only one staying home. She works at the local retail giant, Wallman's, to finance her documentary filmmaking and ends up with an unlikely assistant in the form of 12-year-old Bailey Graffman (JENNA BOYD). The girls' long-distance, connective bond comes in the form of a pair of blue jeans that magically fits all of their different shapes and sizes perfectly. With each keeping the jeans a week before sending them to the next recipient accompanied by a letter detailing the latest in their lives, the girls try to keep in touch and support each other all while dealing with the good and bad events that come their way. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? It's a good bet that young girls will be drawn to it, particularly if they're fans of the original literary work. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For thematic elements, some sensuality and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: AMBER TAMBLYN plays the only friend in the group who stays home. She's a few shades from being a sullen punker and ends up tolerating and then befriending Bailey while making documentary films with her. BLAKE LIVELY plays her friend, the most confident and aggressive of the bunch who pursues and ultimately loses her virginity to Eric, an act that makes her question everything about her self (including missing her dead mom). ALEXIS BLEDEL plays their prim and uncertain friend who finally blossoms in Greece when she meets and falls for Kostos (and reneges on her promise to her grandmother not to see him). AMERICA FERRERA plays their friend whose expectations of spending the summer alone with her father are shattered when he announces he's about to marry Lydia. Unhappy with being a bit overweight and the fact that her father is more of that to Lydia's kids than to her, she tries to come to grips with all of that. BRADLEY WHITFORD plays her dad who does spend more time with them than her, unaware that he's hurting her feelings. NANCY TRAVIS plays the somewhat snooty woman he's living with and is about to marry. MIKE VOGEL plays the soccer coach who tries to resist Bridget's constant temptation, but finally gives in to it (and apparently sleeps with her). JENNA BOYD plays the persistent but assured 12-year-old who becomes Tibby's unofficial assistant, all while hiding the secret of her serious medical condition. MICHAEL RADY plays the Greek student who saves, befriends and then falls for Lena, not caring about the long-running quarrel between their grandfathers. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this drama that's been rated PG. Profanity consists of a handful of mild expletives, while various color phrases are uttered. Some non-explicit, but sexually related dialogue is present among teenage girls, while one of them sexually pursues her soccer coach nonstop until he finally can't resist anymore and they apparently have sex (off-camera, after some making out, and she feels empty afterwards). She and others wear and/or are seen in some skimpy and/or revealing attire. Thematic elements include that apparent loss of virginity, a character having and dying from leukemia, talk of familial deaths, and a strained father/daughter relationship that leads to some tense family material. Various bad attitudes are present, some characters drink (and there's talk of an unseen alcoholic), some smoke and we see that a sick girl has passed out and wet her pants. Another potentially unsettling moment involves a teenager briefly getting stuck underwater before being rescued. Some behavior may be enticing for some girls to imitate, while there's some brief, physical contact between various people including an aunt punishing her niece by dunking her head in some water. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Eric states that running is the "best high" one can have. Al tells Carmen that Paul's father is an alcoholic in Atlanta and goes to visit him, but that Krista can't stand to talk or hear about that. Eric and others have drinks in a cantina where Bridget and two soccer friends show up. Bridget tells Eric that she's not drinking, but might have to start if Eric doesn't dance with her. Carmen complains that Lydia and Krista were like the sunshine twins on uppers. BLOOD/GORE One of the rules about the jeans is no picking your nose while wearing them. Tibby finds Bailey lying passed out on the floor in a store aisle with her pants wet around her crotch. We see Lena's grandmother hanging up octopi on a line to dry (some viewers may think that looks gross). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Lena's grandmother orders that Lena can never see Kostos again (due to their grandfathers having a longstanding feud). Lena agrees, but eventually reneges on her promise. Tibby tells Bailey, "You seem like a pain in the ass" and initially isn't happy to have her hanging around. Tibby refers to her manager as "rat-faced." A seamstress and Lydia talk about Carmen (and her being too big for the bridesmaid dress that was made for her) as if she's not there (but she is and Carmen confronts them about that). Carmen is upset when she learns that her dad and his new family are not concerned about her whereabouts (after she's been missing all day and following other bits where her dad has been absent or non-caring about her). In turn, she throws a rock at the dining room window, shattering it. Carmen, mad at her dad, takes out her anger on Tibby who walks out with saying goodbye. When Lena's grandmother finds her with Kostos, she pushes Kostos backwards and yanks Lena away (her grandfather appears to spit on Kostos). We then see her grandmother pulling Lena's head up out of some water after apparently dunking it there. She then throws a towel at her. FRIGHTENING SCENES Tibby finds Bailey lying passed out on the floor in a store aisle with her pants wet around her crotch. Trying to get a look at Kostos, Lena accidentally falls into the sea where her jeans get stuck on something underwater, preventing her from surfacing. Kostos then shows up there and frees her (but the scene is more about the latter meeting than with the former, perilous moment). Spoiler Alert: We learn that Bailey has leukemia and they've stopped giving her any treatment for it. Spoiler Alert: Tibby hears her mother's response to a telephone call and knows that Bailey has died. GUNS/WEAPONS A sword is carried by an animated character in a video game. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "It sucks," "Totally," "You're such a drama queen," "Suck-umentary," "You're a babe," "Really starting to freak me out," "Makes all of our butts look good," "Screwed up," "You seem like a pain in the ass," "Loser types," "Rat-faced manager," "Wise ass," "Pain in the neck," "Trying to grow a brain," "Oh jeez," "Hissy fit," "I look like a tramp," "You scare the hell out of me," "Freak show," "Screw the world" and "Who the hell are you?" The story could inspire some girls to share jeans or other clothing (without washing them as occurs here). Tibby has a stud in her nostril, many earrings in her ear (multiple piercings), streaks of blue in her hair and a tattoo on her ankle. Bridget jumps from a dumpster to a fire escape ladder (which she swings on) so that the girls go sneak into the building where their mothers all met when they were pregnant with the girls. Miscellaneous teenage girls wear midriff-revealing tops, as does Bridget on various occasions. Bridget wears very tight exercise shorts and a midriff-revealing top in practice. When she spots Eric, she purposefully pours water down her face and chest. After Bridget scores a goal, the other girls on her team jokingly bow down before her, stating they're not worthy. Bridget starts doing some sexualized dancing with Eric in a cantina, but he's uncomfortable and says he can't do that and thus stops. Bridget, who's always in revealing and/or tight clothing, continues to hit on Eric. Carmen is upset when she learns that her dad and his new family are not concerned about her whereabouts (after she's been missing all day). In turn, she throws a rock at the dining room window, shattering it. Carmen complains that Lydia and Krista were like the sunshine twins on uppers. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 3 asses, 2 hells, 6 uses of "Oh my God," 4 of "Oh God" and 2 of "God." SEX/NUDITY Tibby asks (about her parents who've just had two more kids), "What was I? An experiment from their hippie days?" Bridget jokes to Lena that all of the beaches in Greece are nude. As the four girls try on the same pair of jeans, we see Bridget and Carmen in their underwear. One of the girls comments that the jeans make all of their butts look good. Carmen shows a little cleavage. One of the rules about the jeans is that any removal of the pants must be done by the wearer themselves (with the other girls laughing at Bridget regarding that). One of the girls tells Bridget that it's against the rules to have flings with the soccer coaches (after Bridget expresses interest in Eric). Lena spots a guy putting suntan lotion on a woman's bare back (she's wearing a bikini bottom). We see Lena in just Kostos old t-shirt (since her clothes are wet after falling into the sea). We see Bridget and other soccer players jogging in sports bras and small and tight exercise shorts. We later see Bridget lying on the beach in the same, trying to look attractive to Eric. As Bridget comes on to Eric and says that she plays forward (meaning soccer), he replies, "So I've noticed" (meaning romantic/sexual). Lena's cousins show some cleavage. Bridget wears very tight exercise shorts and a midriff-revealing top in practice. When she spots Eric, she purposefully pours water down her face and chest. We briefly see Lena in her bra and panties as she strips down to dive into the sea. Kostos spots her in the water, removes his shirt and then dives in with her. Bridget starts doing some sexualized dancing with Eric in a cantina, but he's uncomfortable and says he can't do that and thus stops. The camera briefly focuses on Carmen's butt in the magical jeans. When Carmen realizes that her bridesmaid dress is too small and too tight, she proclaims that she looks like a tramp. She then complains that unlike Lydia and Krista, she has an "ass." Bridget, who's always in revealing and/or tight clothing, continues to hit on Eric. Bridget tells Eric that she went out with some guy in the past, and that while she talked, he groped her. Kostos and Lena briefly kiss. Bridget purposefully walks past Eric's room, wearing a shirt tied up to expose her belly and open to show her red bikini top or bra beneath it (with some cleavage showing). He then follows her to the beach at night where the two end up passionately kissing. It's implied that she loses her virginity to him, as we see her walking back to her room, looking shaken and/or dazed. She then writes to Lena that it happened just as she imagined it would, but rather than feeling complete, she now feels empty. Kostos and Lena briefly but sensually kiss. Lena's grandmother finds Lena's sketches of Kostos where he's posing shirtless. We see some kissing between Kostos and Lena. When Eric apologizes to Bridget (apparently about sleeping with her), she replies that she didn't exactly tell him to slow down and "I wanted it," but for all the wrong reasons. Tibby shows a little cleavage. SMOKING Roberta, a Wallman's employee, smokes several times, while some other workers smoke as well. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see a young Carla crying as her father leaves, knowing he won't be returning. We see Bridget and her dad attending her mom/his wife's funeral and it's somewhat suggested that she committed suicide. Carmen tells her dad that she hasn't spent more than four straight days with him since she was 10. Carmen's dad surprises her with news that he lives with Lydia and is getting married (and Carmen isn't happy about that). Carmen is upset that her father has changed in many ways now that he's engaged to Lydia. Lydia states that her father died before her first wedding. Al tells Carmen that Paul's father is an alcoholic in Atlanta and goes to visit him, but that Krista can't stand to talk or hear about that. Kostos states that his parents were killed in an accident when he was 12. Carmen is upset when she learns that her dad and his new family are not concerned about her whereabouts (after she's been missing all day). In turn, she throws a rock at the dining room window, shattering it. Later, she's very upset about this matter. When Lena's grandmother finds her with Kostos, she pushes Kostos backwards and yanks Lena away (her grandfather appears to spit on Kostos). We then see her grandmother pulling Lena's head up out of some water after apparently dunking it there. She then throws a towel at her. After apparently losing her virginity, Bridget states that she wishes she had her mom to talk to about that. Carmen, still mad at her dad about the above, calls him and asks if he's ashamed of or embarrassed about her. She adds that he seems to be happy to be dad to his new family, but doesn't have enough time to be her dad. Bridget talks to her friends about her dead mom. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Friendships, how they can be different among people and how they help everyone cope with day to day life. That Bridget discovered that losing her virginity was not what she thought it was going to be and loses her confidence and aggressiveness after that. Leukemia and how to react when one hears that another person has that or some other serious illness. Deaths in the family. Strained parent-child relationships. Tibby asks (about her parents who've just had two more kids), "What was I? An experiment from their hippie days?" We see Bridget and her dad attending her mom/his wife's funeral and it's somewhat suggested that she committed suicide. The order "Love your sister and love yourself." Eric states that running is the "best high" one can have. Al tells Carmen that Paul's father is an alcoholic in Atlanta and goes to visit him, but that Krista can't stand to talk or hear about that. One of the soccer girls gets tampons in the mail from home (during mail call). The fact that Lena is jealous of those who've lost people in their lives but can still be happy and love others, whereas she's lost no one and isn't happy. Bailey believes there's something more to the universe than just them. When asked if she's scared of dying, a sick girl says she isn't, but is scare of time and not having enough of it and being afraid of what she'll miss. After apparently losing her virginity, Bridget states that she wishes she had her mom to talk to about that. The comment that maybe there's a little bit of loser in all of us. The comment that happiness is just stringing all of the good stuff in life together and getting through the rest. VIOLENCE A young Bridget storms into the school audience to deal with two young kids who are laughing at one of her friends who fell on stage. Bridget then repeatedly whacks the two kids with some paper. Lena falls off the donkey she's riding sidesaddle (and lands on the street) but is okay. Upset that her dad has left her to play tennis with Paul, Carmen is very aggressive in her play, resulting in one of her shots hitting Paul quite hard on the head (he's okay and Carmen apologizes for doing that). When Lena's grandmother finds her with Kostos, she pushes Kostos backwards and yanks Lena away (her grandfather appears to spit on Kostos). We then see her grandmother pulling Lena's head up out of some water after apparently dunking it there. She then throws a towel at her. Reviewed April 14, 2005 / Posted June 1, 2005

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