The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a 2005 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Ken Kwapis from a screenplay by Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandler, based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Ann Brashares. It stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, and Alexis Bledel. It follows four best friends who buy a mysterious pair of pants that fits each of them despite their differing sizes. They share the pants equally as they spend their first summer apart.

It was released in the United States on June 3, 2005, by Warner Bros. Pictures. A sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, was released on August 6, 2008.

In 2018, a third film had been in development, as was a musical adaptation based on the first film.

Plot

Lifelong best friends Lena Kaligaris, Tabitha "Tibby" Rollins, Carmen Lowell, and Bridget Vreeland are teens from Bethesda, Maryland who are about to spend their first summer apart — Lena is visiting her grandparents in Santorini, Bridget is attending soccer camp in Baja California, Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina, and Tibby is staying home. While shopping together, the four find a pair of jeans that inexplicably fit them all perfectly despite their very different figures. They decide to share them equally over the summer, before parting the next day.

While wearing the pants, Lena is saved from drowning by local Greek boy Kostas Dounas. She later discovers her family has been feuding with Kostas' for ages due to a fiscal dispute between their respective grandfathers. Kostas pursues Lena, insisting the feud has nothing to do with them. She initially rebuffs his advances, but eventually begins to secretly date him. Just after Kostas tells Lena he loves her, her family drags her away before she can answer. Lena's grandmother berates her for seeing him, but Lena appeals to her grandfather, who allows her to see Kostas before he leaves for Athens.

Working at a department store, Tibby finds a young girl unconscious and calls 911. Later, the same girl delivers the pants to Tibby's home when they are erroneously delivered to hers. Fascinated by Tibby's film-making, she introduces herself to Tibby as Bailey and appoints herself Bailey's assistant, to Tibby's initial annoyance. Tibby later learns that Bailey has leukemia. She visits Bailey in the hospital with the pants, pleading with her to take them and let their magic cure her, but Bailey declines. She later dies. Devastated, Tibby then edits her film inspired by and called “Bailey.”

Arriving in South Carolina, Carmen finds that her white father Al is about to marry Lydia, a single WASP mother to teens Paul and Krista. Although Al's step-family initially seems welcoming, they soon begin to emotionally exclude Carmen, whose Catholic Puerto Rican upbringing creates a cultural disconnect. They dismiss Carmen when she speaks Spanish to Al, assuming he still understands her from his marriage to her mother, and reject her when she suggests making Puerto Rican recipes for dinner. Carmen overhears Krista and her friend talk mockingly about her.

Carmen soon begins to resent Al for being an enthusiastic and present father to Krista and Paul while he has been largely absent from her life. Humiliated at a dress fitting when her bridesmaid dress is too small and the saleswoman refers to her as "the other one", Carmen lashes out at everyone before fleeing.

Carmen returns home and sees Al and her step-family happily enjoying dinner together, oblivious to her absence. Enraged, she throws a rock at their dining room window, shattering the glass, and returns to Maryland. Tibby tries to help Carmen reconcile her feelings toward her father, but Carmen lashes out at her. Tibby leaves upset, but they eventually reconcile.

Tibby convinces Carmen to confront her father via phone, during which she expresses her feelings of neglect and abandonment. He apologizes sincerely, but Carmen says it is not enough.

At soccer camp, Bridget develops a crush on coach Eric Richman. Despite relationships between coaches and campers being forbidden, she flirts with him and seeks his attention during games, eventually losing her virginity to him on the beach at night. Bridget becomes depressed after their encounter and isolates herself upon returning home. Carmen and Tibby visit her, whereupon she confides she is afraid of turning out like her mother, whose depression lead to her suicide. The two reassure her that she is stronger than her mother and comfort her with happy memories. On his way back to Columbia University, Eric apologizes to Bridget and expresses hope that she will reconsider him when she is older.

The girls meet Lena at the airport before driving to South Carolina to attend Al's wedding, despite Carmen's reluctance. Al publicly apologizes for neglecting her, and Carmen accepts his apology, joining the blended family onstage for the ceremony.

Cast

Production

Casting

A number of young actresses were in talks to be cast for the movie. Hilary Duff was reportedly considered for the role of Tibby; the director chose Tamblyn instead.

Producer Debra Martin Chase, also behind the Cheetah Girls and Princess Diaries films, said Ferrera was "the first one we cast." Other actresses originally included Mischa Barton, Kristin Kreuk, and Olivia Wilde.

Filming

Principal photography started on May 17, 2004. Filming began on the island of Santorini, Greece. Filming then continued in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The film was partially shot in British Columbia at Kamloops and Ashcroft, along with the Zellers store at Coquitlam Centre in Coquitlam.

Reception and legacy

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads "With surprisingly touching earnestness, The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants follows four best friends as they try on adulthood — and though it isn't an easy fit, their journey becomes bearable thanks to the threads they share". Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

Shondaland mentioned in its review of the film that Bridget's white underwear (seen in the trial scene at the beginning of the film) was iconic.

Box office

On its opening weekend, the film opened #5 at the box office with $9,833,340. As of November 14, 2008, the film had grossed $42,013,878 worldwide.

Home media

The DVD was released in the US on October 11, 2005, and it included extras including deleted scenes and conversations with cast members.

Soundtrack and score

The song album was released by Columbia Records on May 24, 2005.

"These Days" – Chantal Kreviazuk (3:57)

"Unwritten" – Natasha Bedingfield (4:19)

"Time of Our Lives" – Paul van Dyk (3:37)

"Black Roses Red" – Alana Grace (4:12)

"If God Made You" (Radio Remix) – Five for Fighting (4:16)

"Just for You" – William Tell (3:46)

"Closer to You" – Brandi Carlile (2:54)

"No Sleep Tonight" – The Faders (3:00)

"I Want You to Know" – Chantal Kreviazuk (3:19)

"Be Be Your Love" – Rachael Yamagata (4:14)

"Sun's Gonna Rise" – Shannon Curfman (3:55)

"Simple" – Katy Perry (3:39)

"Always There in You" – Valli Girls (an early track involving members of HAIM)(3:46)

The album of Cliff Eidelman's score was released by Varèse Sarabande on July 12, 2005.

"Prologue" (3:44)

"Deja Blue" (1:04)

"Fate" (1:01)

"Rules of the Pants" (3:26)

"A Touch of Greece" (1:18)

"Honey" (1:10)

"The Traveling Pants" (:53)

"Reflection" (2:07)

"Running" (1:26)

"Traveling to Baja" (:39)

"The Way of the Pants" (:34)

"Letter" (1:48)

"Broken Heart" (1:16)

"A Brave Soul" (1:15)

"Last Words" (:58)

"Us" (2:18)

"Sisterhood Reunites" (1:14)

"Together" (1:29)

"The Traveling Song" (3:17)

"Piano Suite" (4:03)

Awards

References

External links

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants at IMDb

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants at Rotten Tomatoes