The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (film)
Encyclopedia
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (released in the UK as The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) is a 2005 American film, based on the novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Ann Brashares
Ann Brashares is an American writer of young adult fiction. She is best known as the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series of books....

 released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and He's Just Not That Into...

 and written by Delia Ephron
Delia Ephron
Delia G. Ephron is a screenwriter and producer. She is the sister of Nora Ephron and Amy Ephron and Hallie Ephron; their parents were screenwriters Henry and Phoebe Ephron. She has written several children's books. The girl with the mermaid hair, which deals with body images and what negative...

.

The film's production budget was $25 million. At the box office, it brought in a total domestic gross of $39 million. The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on October 11, 2005, and features on-camera commentary by Amber Tamblyn
Amber Tamblyn
Amber Rose Tamblyn is an American actress and poet. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera General Hospital as Emily Quartermaine, followed by a starring role on the prime-time series Joan of Arcadia portraying the title character...

, Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rory Gilmore in the television series Gilmore Girls and Lena Kaligaris in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.-Early life:Bledel was born Kimberly Alexis Bledel in Houston, Texas...

, and America Ferrera
America Ferrera
America Georgina Ferrera is an American actress, best known for playing the lead role in the television comedy series Ugly Betty...

 and deleted scenes (discussed by Kwapis). The film was partially shot in the Kamloops and Ashcroft area in B.C., Canada.

Plot

Four teenage girls—Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen—who are best friends and have been together all their lives in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

, but are about to separate for the summer. Lena is spending the summer in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 with her grandparents; Tibby is staying at home; Bridget is going to soccer camp in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

; and Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. The girls go browsing at a local thrift store before they separate for the summer. They convince Tibby to try on a pair of jeans, who in turn makes Lena try them on, then Bridget, then Carmen; they find that the Pants magically fits all four of them perfectly, even though they have different measurements. The girls decide to share the Pants equally among them over the summer as a way of keeping together when they are apart. They part the next day, and the film focuses on each girl's journey separately.

Lena Kaligaris
One day in Greece, Lena is sitting at the dock, drawing when she accidentally falls in the water, and the leg of the Pants gets caught on something. A young man swims over and sets her free, later introducing himself as Kostas Dounas, a Greek-American like her. Lena learns from her grandparents that her family and Kostas' family are sworn enemies stemming from an old family feud. Despite this, Kostas continues to pursue Lena, and the two develop feelings for each other. At first, Lena is afraid to let herself love Kostas, but eventually begins to open up, sharing rides on his motorbike through the town and going out in Kostas' grandfather's boat at midnight, to which her grandparents are oblivious.

The climax of the relationship comes one Saturday night close to the end of the summer, right before Kostas is about to leave town to return to Athens University. Kostas and Lena attend a party, and while they are dancing, Kostas tells Lena that he loves her. Before Lena can answer, Lena's family barges in, angrily pulling Lena away. Lena later confronts her grandfather and asks to go see Kostas before he leaves, to which her grandfather agrees. Lena goes to the dock and calls out to Kostas, who gets off the ferry. Kostas and Lena share a passionate kiss, and Lena confesses her love for him.

Tibby Rollins
While on the job in a cheap department store, Tibby hears a loud crashing sound, and finds a young girl who has fainted in the deodorant aisle. She frantically calls for help, and the girl is taken away in an ambulance. Later, when Lena from Greece mails the magical Pants to Tibby, they are delivered to the wrong house, and someone comes to Tibby's house to deliver them - coincidentally, Bailey Graffman, the girl who had fainted at the store.

Fascinated by Tibby's movie, or "suckumentary", and her movie making, Bailey becomes Tibby's self-appointed assistant. Tibby is annoyed by this at first, but gradually grows to accept Bailey. She later learns from Bailey's neighbor that Bailey has leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

.

Bailey eventually goes to the hospital with a bad infection. Tibby avoids the hospital for a while, but eventually visits Bailey, bringing the Traveling Pants. She offers them to Bailey and pleads with her to take them so that they can help her. Bailey responds by saying that the pants have already worked their magic on Bailey by bringing her and Tibby together. Tibby spends a lot of time with Bailey in the hospital after that. A couple days later, Tibby receives a phone call in the morning from Mrs. Graffman, Bailey's mother, saying that Bailey died in the night.

When Carmen comes back home from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, Tibby visits her to try and help her with her feelings of being snubbed by her father. Tibby later goes to Bridget's house along with Carmen in order to bring Bridget out of a period of sadness she's going through.

Over the course of the movie, Tibby undergoes dramatic changes in outlook due to her time with Bailey.

Bridget Vreeland
Shortly after arriving at soccer camp in Baja California, Mexico, Bridget develops a crush on one of the coaches, Eric Richman. She reveals to Eric and the audience that a psychiatrist who evaluated her following her mother's suicide described her as "single-minded to the point of recklessness," presumably as a way of avoiding dealing with her mother's death. This statement aptly describes Bridget's pursuit of Eric, despite the fact that flings between coaches and campers are forbidden. She flirts with Eric, shows off for him during games, and more.

When Bridget's turn with the Traveling Pants finally comes, she puts them on that night and walks around outside Eric's cabin, leading him to the beach. It is implied in the movie (and confirmed in the book) that Bridget loses her virginity to Eric. The event leaves Bridget feeling empty and listless, even once she returns home. After learning about this in a letter, Lena calls Carmen and Tibby, and they arrive at Bridget's house to cheer her up. She tells them she is worried she is like her mother, whose mood also swung easily from very up to very down, eventually resulting in deep depression and suicide. Carmen and Tibby comfort Bridget by reassuring her that she is stronger than her mother. Eric visits Bridget and apologizes for his behavior over the summer, and tells her that while she is too young for him now, he hopes she will give him a shot when she is older, giving Bridget some much-needed closure.

Carmen Lowell
During the summer Carmen goes to her dad's house in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. On arrival, she is shocked when her dad immediately introduces her to a new family that he is about to marry into; they are blonde White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...

s, unlike Carmen who was raised by her Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

 mother. During her time there her father and her new family neglect her emotionally, driving her to throw a stone through their dining room window, and catch a bus back to Maryland. At home she tells Tibby about her time with her dad and Tibby convinces her to confront her father with a phone call and finally tell him that she's mad at him. Carmen tells her father and he apologizes. Her summer ends with the four of them returning south where she is an attendant at her father's wedding, where at the reception he makes a public apology for having snubbed her.

Cast

  • Amber Tamblyn
    Amber Tamblyn
    Amber Rose Tamblyn is an American actress and poet. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera General Hospital as Emily Quartermaine, followed by a starring role on the prime-time series Joan of Arcadia portraying the title character...

     as Tabitha "Tibby" Tomko-Rollins
    Tibby Rollins
    Tabitha Anastasia "Tibby" Tomko-Rollins is a member of the fictional The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, along with her friends Lena Kaligaris, Bridget Vreeland and Carmen Lowell. She was portrayed by Amber Tamblyn in the movie adaption, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.-Family:Tibby's...

  • America Ferrera
    America Ferrera
    America Georgina Ferrera is an American actress, best known for playing the lead role in the television comedy series Ugly Betty...

     as Carmen Lowell
    Carmen Lowell
    Carmen Lucille Lowell is a main character in the book and film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She is sometimes called Carma and Carmabelle or carmeena in the book, and is a sensitive and caring half-Puerto Rican with a bad temper. Her parents are divorced, and she lives with her mother,...

  • Alexis Bledel
    Alexis Bledel
    Alexis Bledel is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rory Gilmore in the television series Gilmore Girls and Lena Kaligaris in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.-Early life:Bledel was born Kimberly Alexis Bledel in Houston, Texas...

     as Lena Kaligaris
  • Blake Lively
    Blake Lively
    Blake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...

     as Bridget Vreeland
  • Bradley Whitford
    Bradley Whitford
    Bradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...

     as Carmen's father, Albert "Al" Lowell
  • Jenna Boyd
    Jenna Boyd
    Jenna Michelle Boyd is an American teen actress.-Life and career:Jenna Boyd was born in Bedford, Texas and moved with her parents and younger brother Cayden to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career...

     as Bailey Graffman
  • Kyle Schmid
    Kyle Schmid
    Kyle Schmid is a Canadian actor who starred as Henry Fitzroy in Lifetime's series Blood Ties. He has also guest starred in a number of television series including Degrassi: The Next Generation, Odyssey 5, The Zack Files and CSI: Miami.In addition he has also appeared in a number of films like The...

     as Paul Rodman
  • Mike Vogel
    Mike Vogel
    Michael James "Mike" Vogel is an American actor and former fashion model. Vogel began acting in 2001, and has since appeared in several films and series, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Grind, Poseidon, and Cloverfield.-Early life:Vogel was born in...

     as Eric Richman
  • Michael Rady
    Michael Rady
    Michael Rady is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia and went to the St. Joseph's Prep, a Jesuit prep school in Philadelphia, well known for its excellent theatre program....

     as Kostas Dounas
  • Kristie Marsden
    Kristie Marsden
    Kristie Marsden is a Canadian actress, singer and dancer.Marsden was the youngest Canadian actress to play the role of Sophie in the Broadway musical, Mamma Mia!. She played the role for 832 performances...

     as Soccer Pal Olivia
  • Emily Tennant as Krista Rodman
  • Leonardo Nam
    Leonardo Nam
    Leonardo Nam is an Argentine-born Australian actor of Korean descent.-Early life:Nam was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of 6, he moved to Sydney, Australia. Nam attended Sydney Technical High School and studied architecture at the University of New South Wales. Nam left Sydney to...

     as Brian McBrian
  • Lexie Aaron As narrator

Critical response

According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, "This adaptation of a beloved novel charms with its heartwarming tale of friendship and young adulthood; realistic portrayals of the lives of teenage girls lend the comedy-drama sincerity, and may capture hearts outside the female-centric demographic." It has a score of 77% based on 125 reviews as well as 94% approval from Top Critics.
Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

 gave the film a score of 66%, with "generally favorable reviews", based on 34 reviews.
Yahoo! Movies gave the film a B rating based on 13 different critics.

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 has grossed $42,013,878 worldwide.

Soundtrack and score

The song album was released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 on May 24, 2005.
  1. These Days - Chantal Kreviazuk
    Chantal Kreviazuk
    Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk is a Canadian singer-songwriter of the adult contemporary music genre. She is also a classically trained pianist, and can play the guitar.-Albums:...

     (3:57)
  2. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
    Natasha Bedingfield
    Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...

     (4:19)
  3. Black Roses Red - Alana Grace
    Alana Grace
    Alana Grace is an American actress and singer-songwriter who is best known for her song "Black Roses Red" featured on the soundtrack of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants...

     (4:12)
  4. If God Made You (Radio Remix) - Five For Fighting
    Five for Fighting
    Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman " , "100 Years" , and "The Riddle" .-Early years:...

     (4:16)
  5. Just For You - William Tell (3:46)
  6. Closer To You - Brandi Carlile
    Brandi Carlile
    Brandi Carlile is an American singer and songwriter.-Early life:At age eight, Carlile performed a rendition of the country music song "Tennessee Flat Top Box" with her mother. She began to play the guitar and write songs at fifteen. At sixteen, she began to perform as a backup singer for an Elvis...

     (2:54)
  7. No Sleep Tonight - The Faders
    The Faders
    The Faders were a British female pop rock band, formed in January 2004 by Polydor Records. Bassist/keyboardist Toy Valentine and drummer Cherisse Osei were the first members to get through the first audition...

     (3:00)
  8. I Want You To Know - Chantal Kreviazuk
    Chantal Kreviazuk
    Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk is a Canadian singer-songwriter of the adult contemporary music genre. She is also a classically trained pianist, and can play the guitar.-Albums:...

     (3:19)
  9. Be Be Your Love - Rachael Yamagata
    Rachael Yamagata
    Rachael Yamagata is an American singer-songwriter and pianist from Arlington, Virginia. She began her musical career with the band Bumpus before becoming a solo artist and releasing four EP's and three studio albums...

     (4:14)
  10. Sun's Gonna Rise - Shannon Curfman
    Shannon Curfman
    Shannon Marie Curfman is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer. She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, which she recorded a year earlier.Curfman has toured with John Mellencamp, Buddy Guy, George Thorogood and The...

     (3:55)
  11. Simple - Katy Perry
    Katy Perry
    Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

     (3:39)
  12. Always There In You - Valli Girls (3:46)


The album of Cliff Eidelman
Cliff Eidelman
Clifford Glen “Cliff” Eidelman is an American composer and conductor who scored films such as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery.- Career :Eidelman began his formal training in violin at the age of eight and continued with...

's score was released by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...

 on July 12, 2005.
  1. Prologue (3:44)
  2. Deja Blue (1:04)
  3. Fate (1:01)
  4. Rules of the Pants (3:26)
  5. A Touch of Greece (1:18)
  6. Honey (1:10)
  7. The Traveling Pants (:53)
  8. Reflection (2:07)
  9. Running (1:26)
  10. Traveling to Baja (:39)
  11. The Way of the Pants (:34)
  12. Letter (1:48)
  13. Broken Heart (1:16)
  14. A Brave Soul (1:15)
  15. Last Words (:58)
  16. Us (2:18)
  17. Sisterhood Reunites (1:14)
  18. Together (1:29)
  19. The Traveling Song (3:17)
  20. Piano Suite (4:03)

Sequel

All four actresses signed on for the sequel and filming started June 2007. The movie, titled The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri...

, was released on August 6, 2008. The movie is said to be based on the second, third and fourth books in the Traveling Pants series, while the time is apparently of Girls in Pants, i.e. after high school graduation before the girls leave for college. It is rated PG-13 for mature material and sensuality unlike the first film which was PG.

Awards

  • 2006 - Won; Imagen Foundation Awards for Best Actress (America Ferrera)
  • 2006 - Nominated; ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
    Alma Award
    The American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award is a distinction awarded to Latino performers who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field...

     (America Ferrera)
  • 2006 - Nominated; Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film - Drama
  • 2006 - Nominated; Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress (Jenna Boyd)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Satellite Award for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical
    Satellite Awards
    The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...

     (America Ferrera)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Satellite Award for Outstanding Youth DVD (Widescreen Edition)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Drama
    Teen Choice Awards
    The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...

    (Alexis Bledel)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Drama (Amber Tamblyn)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female (America Ferrera)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female (Jenna Boyd)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female (Blake Lively)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Male (Michael Rady)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fit (America Ferrera)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Love Scene (Alexis Bledel and Michael Rady)
  • 2005 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Drama

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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