Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Failed to Impress

So I have read all the books. I loved the first movie even though it didn't really stick to the first book. It's nice to see all the girls back for a second now that they have all found fame. Amber Tamblyn was in the short-lived series Joan of Arcadia. Alexis Bledel was the biggest star in the first with her starring role in Gilmore Girls. Since the first both America Ferrera and Blake Lively have scored starring roles on hit tv shows. Those two shows being Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty. It was a good thing that they were under contract for a second film. America Ferrera didn't want to do a sequel with her success in Ugly Betty.

I thought when I went to see this movie that it would of course follow the second book. In case you didn't know the series is made of four books. However as soon as the movie started I was proved wrong. Carmen (America Ferrera) narrates the film and as soon as she started to explain I realized the movie would combine the remaining books of the series. I actually thought it would be kinda cool to see that take on the books. However what followed was lack in character development and holes in the plot.

The second film was mainly based around the fourth book. As explained by Carmen in the beginning of the movie, the pants had helped them through the last three summers. They girls are all in college. However they have all drifted apart as they have gone their separate ways in life. Tibby at NYU, Bridget to Brown, Lena at Rhode Island School of Design, Carmen at Yale (however in the books its Williamson). Carmen hopes that the fourth summer with the pants will bring them back together. However it is at their beginning of summer ritual with the pants where Carmen discovers that she may have been wrong. Bridget is going to Turkey on an archaeological dig. Lena is taking her first figure drawing class (which was originally a storyline in the third book). Tibby making up a screenwriting class at NYU and dating Brian. Carmen because her friends are all gone decides to take up an offer a friend made to join her at a summer drama program. So they all go there separate ways for the summer with only the pants to help bring them together. However each girl encounters something a little different than they planned with their summer. Everyone finds romance and relationship problems. Bridget had no love interests in this movie... which was disappointing. In the second book she has a summer fling with a childhood friend in Alabama. In the third and fourth novels she is back with her old soccer coach, Eric. However there was no boy toy for her. Kinda made me bummed. But what made me really mad was the lack of development for her character. In the second novel she finds letters from her forgotten Grandmother. She thought Gretta was dead when for years her dad has secretly kept her letters. In the books Bridget is extremely depressed at this point.. to the point she dyed her hair. She lost her virginity the summer before and she was having a personality crisis. Plus her broken relationship with her father was not helping. However this is not made aware in the script. From the movie it looks like she is a very happy girl even with her family relationship in threads. She leaves Turkey (which was in the fourth novel) to go to Alabama (from the second novel).

For the BIG PART... THERE WERE MAJOR PLOT HOLES. For example, Lena meets Leo in her figure drawing class. Turns out he is the nude model. She is moving on because Kostos is now married and expecting with his wife. However when things go up in the air and a reconciliation looks possible Leo completely drops out of the picture. We never find out what happens to him. What happens to the boy that Carmen meets in Vermont? What about Bridget's grandmother? It seems that the story drops off completely at one point and leaves half of the story up in the air. Although some loose ends are tied up and major plot lines are resolved. Like B and her father finally realized how much they mean to each other. And two girls finally find true love. However as soon as the girls find themselves in Greece the entire first part of the movie goes almost out the window. It did stick somewhat well to the books. I think it was very nice how the brought all the last three books together. But it left some really loose ends when the lights went up.

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Song: It's Only Life by Kate Voegele


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