Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Year: 2005
Director:Ken Kwapis
Screenplay Written By: Delia Ephron, Elizabeth Chandler
Based On: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brashares
Starring: Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively, America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn
Reader’s Annotation
Best friends Tibby, Lena, Bridget, and Carmen are facing their first summer apart from each other. A pair of pants that magically fits them all perfectly will be their bond as they navigate vacations, new friendships, and first loves.
Plot Summary
Tibby is a rebel staying home to brave a summer job at a chain store. Carmen is going to South Carolina to spend the summer with her estranged father. Lena will travel to Greece and get to know her extended family. Bridget is off to Mexico for a prestigious soccer intensive. The four best friends have been inseparable since birth, and are apprehensive about spending their first summer apart. Luckily, they will have an anchor in the form of a pair of pants to keep them connected. The pants are a spur-of-the-moment purchase at a second hand store during one of the group’s last days together. They inexplicably fit each of the four friends’ body types, and the friends take it as a sign that there is something special about them. As Lena meets a forbidden first love, Bridget pursues one of her soccer coaches, Tibby becomes close with a new friend, and Carmen navigates her complicated relationship with her father and his new fiance, the pants provide strength and a reminder of their strong bond until the girls can reunite at the end of the summer.
Critical Evaluation
The writing choice to give the four main characters such differing and complex personalities sets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants apart from other young adult movies. It is realistic in terms of the girls never having left their hometown and becoming friends with others who live near them out of convenience, especially because their mothers all met in a prenatal exercise class. However, the characters use their differing personalities to the advantage of their friendship. Each exhibiting such a strong principle trait--outgoing, demure, the rebel, and the observer--they balance each other out in a way that is true to life for many groups of friends. Bridget has had a strained relationship with her father since her mentally ill mother committed suicide, so she acts out in ways that will get her attention. Lena’s outgoing younger sister gives Lena the opportunity to hang back from attention. Tibby’s ex-hippie parents encouraged her to question authority and be herself. Carmen’s father left when she was young, causing her to be more introspective and interested in the human condition. Ephron and Chandler, influenced by Brashares' book, succeed in presenting the friendship group dynamic in a way that feels real, largely due to each girl’s detailed backstory and details of their childhood.
Director Information
Ken Kwapis is an award-winning director who has moved easily between the worlds of feature filmmaking and television directing. He most recently directed the Warner Bros. comedy "License to Wed" starring Robin Williams, Mandy Moore and John Krasinski. He previously directed "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," a film adaptation of Ann Brashares' best-selling novel, starring Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel. Kwapis is in pre-production to direct the film adaptation of Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo's non-fiction bestseller, "He's Just Not That Into You," for New Line Cinema.
For television, Kwapis helped launch some of the most innovative comedies of the past decade. He directed the pilot of NBC's Emmy Award-winning series "The Office," starring Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson. He received a 2007 Emmy nomination for directing the episode "Gay Witch Hunt." Kwapis also earned an Emmy nomination for his work as a producer-director of FOX's "Malcolm In The Middle." He directed the pilots for the groundbreaking HBO series "The Larry Sanders Show," and the Emmy Award-winning "The Bernie Mac Show." He also directed episodes of such critically acclaimed comedies as "Freaks and Geeks" and "Bakersfield, P.D."
Kwapis' feature films include the romantic comedies "The Beautician and the Beast" starring Fran Drescher, and "He Said, She Said," starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins. "He Said, She Said" was conceived and co-directed with Kwapis' wife Marisa Silver. His other films include "Dunston Checks In," starring Jason Alexander and Faye Dunaway; "Vibes," starring Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper; and "Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird," starring Jim Henson's Muppets.
Kwapis' feature "Sexual Life" marked his first effort as a writer-director. Adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's play "La Ronde," "Sexual Life" premiered to rave reviews at the Los Angeles Film Festival and aired on Showtime in 2005. The ensemble cast includes Anne Heche, Elizabeth Banks, and Kerry Washington.
Kwapis studied filmmaking at Northwestern University and The University of Southern California. He won the Student Academy Award in Dramatic Achievement for his USC thesis film "For Heaven's Sake," an adaptation of Mozart's one-act comic opera Der Schauspieldirektor ("The Impresario").
Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0477129/bio
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Romance
Curriculum Ties
Geography
Reading Level/Interest Age
MPAA Rating: PG
Challenging Issues
Depression
Mental Illness
Sexual Content and/or Nudity
Suicide
Preparing for Potential Challenges
http://jeselynsminiyacollection.blogspot.com/p/preparing-for-potential-challenges.html
Why the Item Was Chosen
The main reason I included this movie in my collection is because of its popularity when it was released. Although it was over ten years ago, frequent showings on network television keep the movie alive for audiences that might not otherwise be exposed to it. The popularity of Anne Brashares' series of books along with that of the movie keep it in the front of consumer consciousness. Patrons might come into the library looking for this title specifically, and find what they were looking for in addition to browsing for other materials. In addition to this film, I would include the sequel as well as Brashares' series of books in my collection if it were larger.
An interesting conversation to have with young adult patrons would be comparing the second movie to the rest of the books in the series because the remaining four books in the series were compiled into a single sequel movie, causing some controversy for fans of the series. Including these books and movies in my collection could lead to programming in the form of a theme book club where this and other aspects of the story are discussed.
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