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(About Our Ads) "THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2" (2008) (America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Minor Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Heavy Heavy Minor QUICK TAKE: Drama: A quartet of college students keep in touch over the summer by shipping and sharing a magical pair of jeans that help them get through various issues in their lives. PLOT: It's been several years since a magical pair of jeans -- that somehow managed to fit all four girls and their distinct body types perfectly -- helped best friends Tabitha "Tibby" Tomko-Rollins (AMBER TAMBLYN), Bridget Vreeland (BLAKE LIVELY), Lena Kaligaris (ALEXIS BLEDEL) and Carmen Lowell (AMERICA FERRERA) get through some tough times in their lives as they spent the summer apart. It's now that same time of year but after their first year of college, and once again the girls have gone their separate ways. Tibby, who's in NYU, takes a job working at a local video store, but her biggest concern is worrying that she might be pregnant after having sex with boyfriend Brian (LEONARDO NAM) for the first time. Lena is enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design, but still misses her former Greek boyfriend, Kostas (MICHAEL READY), years after they broke up. When she attends her grandfather's funeral, she's shocked to discover that Kostas is now married, apparently with a baby on the way. Her attention, however, is diverted -- and then some -- when she takes a figure drawing class and gets an eyeful of buff nude model, Leo (JESSE WILLIAMS). At the same time, and feeling that she's growing apart from her pregnant mom (RACHEL TICOTIN), Yale student Carmen accepts the offer from school actress Julia (RACHEL NICHOLS) to work backstage at a Vermont production of "The Winter's Tale," directed by Bill (KYLE MacLACHLAN) and starring the charismatic lead actor, Ian (TOM WISDOM). Meanwhile, Bridget -- upset upon the discovery that her father (ERNIE LIVELY) hid letters to her from her maternal grandmother, Greta (BLYTHE DANNER) -- has traveled to Turkey to work on an archaeological site run by Professor Nasrin Mehani (SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO). Despite resurrecting their former tradition of rotating those magic pants between them, the girls find themselves drifting apart, which isn't good considering that various developments in their lives mean they need each other's friendship more than ever. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the first movie, that's a definite yes. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For mature material and sensuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: AMERICA FERRERA plays a college student who feels that she's drifting away from her pregnant mom whose new life is moving in a different direction. She takes a job working backstage at a Shakespeare play where she ends up winning a lead part while falling for Ian. She must contend with being jealous of Julia seemingly trying to move in on him, all while being upset that her friendship with the three other girls appears to be waning. ALEXIS BLEDEL plays one of her friends, an art student who's shocked to learn her former boyfriend is now married with an apparent child on the way. Her attention is diverted, however, when she starts seeing the nude male model from her class, although she then finds herself conflicted about which guy is right for her. AMBER TAMBLYN plays the moody rebel of the group who has sex with her boyfriend for the first time and then worries that she's pregnant. Accordingly, she treats Brian badly and becomes even more depressed. BLAKE LIVELY plays their other friend, a college soccer player who spends part of the summer working on an archaeological dig in Turkey, only to have her eyes opened about the past. She then travels to see her estranged grandmother and learns a thing or two about her own and now deceased mom. LEONARDO NAM plays Tibby's boyfriend who has sex with her for the first time, thinks the condom broke, and must then contend with her shunning him. JESSE WILLIAMS plays the nude model and artist who starts seeing Lena and opens her eyes about not following any sort of set rules. MICHAEL READY plays Lena's former boyfriend, now married due to apparently impregnating another young woman. When that falls apart, he comes looking for Lena despite it being several years since they dated. BLYTHE DANNER plays Bridget's maternal grandmother who's initially cold toward her (believing the girl ignored her for years, which isn't true), but then opens up and gives her various forms of advice about life. RACHEL NICHOLS plays Carmen's classmate, a school actress who gets her a job working backstage for a Shakespeare play, but is jealous when Carmen unexpectedly wins the lead part. She then tries to undermine Carmen in several ways. LUCY HALE plays Lena's younger sister who moves in on Brian after Tibby dumps him, and sees nothing wrong in doing that. KYLE MacLACHLAN plays the director of the Shakespeare play who gives Carmen the lead part, but then worries whether he made the right choice when she seemingly starts to unravel. TOM WISDOM plays a charming British actor who convinces Carmen to audition for the play and then ends up falling for her. SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO plays an archaeological professor who guides Bridget's work on a dig in Turkey and tries to open her eyes about the importance of life and such. RACHEL TICOTIN plays Carmen's mom whose life is taking a new direction, what with a new husband and pregnancy. ERNIE LIVELY plays Bridget's widowed father who never delivered letters to her from her maternal grandmother (all in hopes of protecting her). 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-13. Profanity consists of a handful of benign expletives, some religious phrases, and various colorful phrases. An unmarried couple has sex for the first time (we only see the beginning of the encounter) and both then worry about her being pregnant. Another young woman spends the night with a young man, but we don't know if anything sexual occurs. There are other moments of kissing, varying amounts of cleavage, and a trim young man poses nude for an art class (our view of his pelvic region is blocked, but the students -- including females -- see him in full). Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, various moments of tense family material (most in discussion) are present, and some behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate. There's some brief drinking as well as a little bit of crude humor. 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. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from lightning during a t-storm. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE People may have drinks after a funeral. About a speech Bill is giving, Carmen jokingly asks Julia if he's drunk (he's not, as far as we know). Tibby and Brian have wine. Some people might have drinks in the background of a scene. Miscellaneous people have wine and champagne at a party. BLOOD/GORE About trying out for a play, Julia states she's so nervous she could vomit (but she doesn't). We see a photo of Bridget playfully holding an excavated human skull next to her face. As Tibby, Carmen and Bridget ride donkeys up to see Lena in Greece, one of them states, "One of your donkeys just did something really nasty" (but we don't hear or see anything). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Bridget is upset with her widowed dad when she discovers that he hid letters written to her by her maternal grandmother. She then makes the comment that she can take care of herself and has been doing so for years. About a speech Bill is giving, Carmen jokingly asks Julia if he's drunk (he's not, as far as we know). Due to thinking she's pregnant by him (they had consensual sex), Tibby treats Brian badly, eventually driving him away. She also doesn't reply back to her friends, prompting Carmen to be mad, especially when Tibby suddenly shows up needing to see her. An older actor seems to have a bad attitude toward Carmen, but later tells her not to go to acting school (meaning he thinks she's a natural). Julia is jealous of Carmen getting her part in the play as well as Ian's attention. Accordingly, she informs Carmen that Ian asked her out (she's lying) and later tries to instill doubt in Bill's mind about Carmen's abilities on the stage. She then tells Carmen that the latter wouldn't have any of her recent success if not for her (Julia). Not long after Tibby breaks up with Brian, Lena's younger sister, Effie, moves in on him for dating purposes, and he goes along with that. Lena's younger sister admits that she borrowed the magic jeans and then lost them. FRIGHTENING SCENES While retrieving a ball and ignoring "keep out" signs, Bridget ends up falling through the ground (the ceiling of an ancient chamber) and lands hard on the stone floor below that (but is okay). Bridget has a nightmare during a t-storm where her mom looks in on her sleeping, bags in hand, and then leaves (the scene is not played as scary, but since we know the mom is dead in real life, it might come off that way to some). Carmen's mom screams from labor pains (nothing out of the ordinary, just standard movie material). GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "I'm guessing you're a virgin...to figure drawing," "He's a nude model, not a porn star," "You practically have to Heimlich it out of her," "It sucks," "Whatever," "I could vomit I'm so nervous," "Bollocks," "Screw up," "What the hell were you thinking?" "Trippingly on the tongue," "You had them at, um, high," "I suck at relationships," "Lucky bastard," "You sound like a woman who's about to have a root canal...I hear the drill," "Screwing everything up," "Freaking out," "Where the hell /is this coming from/have you been?" "These ice chips aren't doing squat," "Are you crazy?" "Screwed up," "That's lame," "Freaking," "Shut up," "One of your donkeys just did something really nasty," "He's hot" and "What an idiot." Bridget jumps from a dumpster to the ladder at the bottom of a fire escape, thus causing the ladder to descend and she and her friends then climb up that. Tibby wears a wig despite her hair being fine below that. The four friends exchange and wear the same pair of jeans. Bridget wears a midriff-revealing top. After seeing a man do the same, all four friends jump off a short cliff into the water below them. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 4 hells, 1 bollocks, 12 uses of "Oh God," 7 of "Oh my God," 3 of "God" and 2 of "Jesus." SEX/NUDITY We see a flashback of Lena kissing Kostas. After Lena sees Kostas with another woman, we hear Tibby relating the story, including that he married the woman due to her being pregnant (we later learn there was no pregnancy). Tibby shows a lot of cleavage in one outfit. Julia shows a lot of cleavage in a period-style, costume dress that pushes up her breasts. Bridget shows a little cleavage. Bridget shows some cleavage in another scene. Seeing Lena discombobulated before her drawing class, Leo jokingly says, "I'm guessing you're a virgin...to figure drawing." He then gets up on the stage and strips down as the nude model, completely flustering her. We see his toned upper body, while the camera view and foreground objects block any view of his lower body (to us, Lena and others see all of him). Later, we see Tibby talking to Lena on the phone, matter-of-factly stating, "He's a nude model, not a porn star." She then reminds Lena to send her the sketch of him. Brian starts kissing on Tibby while both are reclined, clothed, on his bed or couch. She jokes that she's not going to put up a fight, he partially gets on top of her, and she nods her head. He asks if she's sure, she says she is, and he removes his shirt as he moves completely on top of her between her legs (she's still clothed) and they kiss. We then see her post-sex, holding a sheet up over her chest, while he comes out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist, looking concerned. He states that he thinks they had a malfunction and then clarifies that to mean the condom (not seen) broke. She's shocked and asks if it was even real, with him saying it was and that his uncle gave it to him, with her commenting on it then being two years old. Things get tense and she asks, "What, was I the first girl to say yes?" He doesn't think when he says "Of course not," making her mad, but he says he didn't mean that. The camera focuses on a woman's clothed butt while she dances in Turkey. It then goes down Bridget's clothed body when she starts dancing (she's in a tight tank-top that accentuates her large chest). Tibby shows cleavage. After Tibby asks Lena on the phone to bring her a pregnancy test, she tells Lena upon her arrival, "Guess what got here before you?" (meaning her period). Bridget shows some cleavage. After Bridget answers that she isn't dating anyone at the moment, Greta tells her to kick up trouble now because in forty years they'll tell you you're too old (presumably referring to fooling around). Ian poses nude again (we don't see anything, but Lena and other students do), with Lena's side view drawing of him showing a slight bump at his crotch area. Lena passionately kisses Leo. Tibby shows cleavage. Leo and Lena briefly kiss. Carmen shows cleavage. Carmen shows cleavage in a period-style costume. Carmen and Ian briefly kiss. We see Lena's sister, Effie, in a bikini. When Lena asks her grandmother the translation for lost pants, the latter sternly states, "Greek girls do not lose their pants." We see miscellaneous cleavage. Lena and Kostas passionately kiss after she visits him in her nightgown. She then spends the night with him on his boat (sneaking back into her room the next morning), but we don't know either way about any sexual activity. We see Bridget in her sports bra when she partially strips down to jump into some water. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Carmen states (via voice-over narration), that she feels like she and her mom are moving apart (due to her mom being remarried and now pregnant). We see Lena and other relatives at her grandfather's funeral. Bridget is upset with her widowed dad when she discovers that he hid letters written to her by her maternal grandmother. She then makes the comment that she can take care of herself and has been doing so for years. Nasrin states that she lost her family and home to a "bloody war," but we later see her greet what are presumably close family members, so it isn't clear who she's talking about. There's brief talk of Bridget's mom committing suicide in the past. Bridget goes to see Greta, her grandmother, who initially isn't happy to see her since she believes the girl blew her off for years (when it was her dad who hid Greta's letters from Bridget). Kostas states that his marriage was annulled when he realized his wife wasn't pregnant as he believed. Bridget has a nightmare during a t-storm where her mom looks in on her sleeping, bags in hand, and then leaves (the scene is not played as scary). Bridget then wakes up and cries to Greta about now remembering her mom leaving her like that, and wonders why she did. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Friendships and how sometimes childhood friends end up growing apart. Casual sex and pregnancy scares. The question of when a person's death becomes scientific and not emotional (Bridget answers when the last person who knew the deceased is no longer around). Tibby's comment that she "sucks at relationships" and that she should have been a guy. She also thinks her attempts at happiness are jinxed. There's brief talk of Bridget's mom committing suicide in the past, as well as other mental issues regarding her (and leaving Bridget as a young child). The comment that no one can diminish you but yourself. Archaeology. VIOLENCE Carmen accidentally causes a stage curtain to fall onto Ian (he's okay). While retrieving a ball and ignoring "keep out" signs, Bridget ends up falling through the ground (the ceiling of an ancient chamber) and lands hard on the stone floor below that (but is okay). Not realizing it's fake, Carmen goes to lean against a stage wall and falls through the paper to the floor behind it (but is okay - played for laughs). Reviewed July 31, 2008 / Posted August 6, 2008