The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Perplexing as the title is, break it down and you’ve got your plot: the ‘sisterhood’ is a group of female friends (so this can only be a chick flick), they share a pair of jeans, which they call ‘pants’, and they spell travelling with one ‘l’ (so they can only be American). The name is so ridiculous that it has to be based on a novel, and it is – Ann Brashares’ best-seller, in fact. Like the inoffensive book, this wholesome drama weaves its uncertain, sometimes charming way through the lives of four 16-year-old friends spending their first summer apart, in locations as diverse as the Greek islands and Washington, DC. As they keep their oath to send the jeans on to each other after a week’s wear, they also share their boyfriend and family troubles via letters. The film fails to explore the implied mystical quality of the jeans (one size mysteriously fits all), but it’s generally harmless coming-of-age stuff – thanks in no small part to talented young actresses Amber Tamblyn and Jenna Boyd. Still, the film’s pat moralism remains as alienatingly American as its title.