''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' is a 2005 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Ken Kwapis Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Presen ...

from a screenplay by

Delia Ephron Delia Ephron ( ; born July 12, 1944) is an American bestselling author, screenwriter, and playwright. Life and career Ephron was born in New York City, the second eldest of four daughters of screenwriters Phoebe and Henry Ephron. Her movies i ...

and Elizabeth Chandler, based on the 2001 novel of the same name by

Ann Brashares Ann Brashares (born July 30, 1967) is an American young adult novelist. She is best known as the author of ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' series. Life and career Brashares was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and grew up in Chevy Chase, ...

. The film stars

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Lively ( Brown; born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She starred as Brid ...

, and

Alexis Bledel Kimberly Alexis Bledel ( ; born September 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Rory Gilmore on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Emily Malek in ''The Handmaid's Tale (TV series), The ...

. The story follows four best friends who buy a mysterious pair of pants that fits each of them despite their differing sizes. The girls share the pants equally as they spend their first summer apart. ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' was released in the United States on June 1, 2005, by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...

. A sequel, ''

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2'' is a 2008 American comedy-drama film and a sequel to the 2005 film ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants''. The original cast (Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel) return to ...

'' was released on August 6, 2008, while a third film is in development. A musical adaptation based on the film is also in development.

Plot

Lena Kaligaris ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' is a series of five bestselling young adult novels by Ann Brashares: ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001),'' '' The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003),'' '' Girls in Pants'' (2005), '' Fore ...

Tibby Rollins ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' is a series of five bestselling young adult novels by Ann Brashares: ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001),'' ''The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003),'' '' Girls in Pants'' (2005), '' Foreve ...

Carmen Lowell ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' is a series of five bestselling young adult novels by Ann Brashares: ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001),'' '' The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003),'' '' Girls in Pants'' (2005), '' Fore ...

, and

Bridget Vreeland Bridget "Bee" Vreeland is a main character in the 2001 novel ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants''. She is portrayed by Blake Lively in the 2005 film adaptation of the first book, and the 2008 sequel, ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ...

are teenagers from

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, who have been best friends their whole lives. The girls are about to spend their first summer apart: Lena is visiting her grandparents in

Santorini Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...

, Greece; Bridget is going to soccer camp in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico; Carmen is visiting her father in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

; and Tibby is staying home. While shopping together, the girls find a pair of jeans that inexplicably fit them all perfectly. The girls decide to share the jeans equally over the summer, before parting the next day. While wearing the Pants, Lena nearly drowns, but a local Greek boy, Kostas Dounas, rescues her. Lena later learns from her grandmother that her and Kostas' families are enemies. Kostas pursues Lena, saying that the dispute between their families has nothing to do with them. Lena initially rebuffs Kostas' advances, but eventually begins a secret relationship with him. Later, Kostas tells Lena that he loves her, but her family interrupts and drags her away before she can answer. Lena appeals to her grandfather, who agrees to allow her to see Kostas before he leaves for Athens. Working at a discount department store, Tibby finds a young girl, Bailey Graffman, has fainted and calls an ambulance. Later, Bailey delivers the pants to Tibby's house after they are accidentally delivered to her home by mistake. Fascinated by Tibby's self-made film, Bailey appoints herself as Tibby's assistant. Initially annoyed, Tibby grows to accept Bailey, and learns that Bailey has

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. When Bailey again is taken to the hospital, Tibby avoids her for a while, but eventually visits her with the pants. She pleads with Bailey to take them, but Bailey says the pants have already worked their magic by bringing her and Tibby together. Tibby continues to spend time with Bailey in the hospital, until she eventually passes away overnight. She decides to make a film inspired by Bailey. Carmen arrives in South Carolina, only to discover that her father, Al, is about to marry Lydia, who has two children around Carmen's age: Paul and Krista. They are blonde

WASPs A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

, unlike Carmen, who was raised by her Catholic, Puerto Rican mother. Although Carmen's father and step-family initially seem welcoming, they emotionally neglect her. Carmen feels uncomfortable with her father referring to Paul and Krista as his kids, and resents him being an enthusiastic, present father to them while he has usually been absent in her life. Carmen is embarrassed at a dress shop when she tries on the bridesmaid dress picked out for her for the wedding, which is too small and unflattering to her voluptuous figure. Angered when the saleswoman calls her, "the other one," Carmen shouts at Lydia and runs away. She eventually takes a taxi home and assumes her father and Lydia are out looking for her, but finds them happily enjoying dinner together in their dining room, apparently unconcerned that she's missing. Carmen throws a stone through their dining room window and returns to Maryland. When Carmen returns home, Tibby tries to help Carmen with her feelings toward her father. Carmen lashes out at Tibby, who leaves in tears, though they eventually reconcile. Tibby convinces Carmen to confront her father with a phone call, during which she finally reveals her feelings of neglect and abandonment. He apologizes sincerely, but Carmen tells him it isn't enough. Arriving at soccer camp, Bridget develops a crush on coach Eric Richman. Despite relationships between coaches and campers being forbidden, Bridget flirts with Eric, and tries to seek his attention during games. When Bridget's turn with the Pants begins, she leads Eric to the beach at night where they have sex and she loses her virginity. Bridget becomes depressed afterwards, and isolates herself when she returns home. After hearing about what happened in a letter, Lena calls Carmen and Tibby, and they go to Bridget's house. Bridget worries she is like her mother, whose mood swings and mental issues culminated in deep depression and her suicide. However, Carmen and Tibby reassure Bridget that she is stronger than her mother and comfort her with happy memories of her mother. On his way back to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Eric visits and apologizes to Bridget for his behavior and expresses his hope that she will give him a chance when she is older. The girls meet Lena at the airport and drive to South Carolina to attend Carmen's father's wedding, despite Carmen's reluctance. Carmen's father publicly apologizes for neglecting her. Carmen accepts his apology and joins the blended family onstage for the ceremony.

Cast

as Tabitha "Tibby" Tomko-Rollins **Victoria Tennant as Young Tibby *

** Alanna Dawn Ekkert as Young Lena *

** Tiara Santana as Young Carmen *

**Ashley Hale as Young Bridget *

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...

as Albert "Al" Lowell, Carmen's father *

Jenna Boyd Jenna Michelle Boyd (born March 4, 1993) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress with roles in the 2003 films '' The Hunted'', '' Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star'' and '' The Missing'', and the 2005 film ''The Sisterho ...

as Bailey Graffman *

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. ...

as Lydia Rodman, Carmen's stepmother *

Erica Hubbard Erica Hubbard is an American actress and model. Hubbard is best known for her roles as Kiana Anderson in the 2006 film '' Akeelah and the Bee'', Cassandra "Cassie" Sutton on the ABC Family series '' Lincoln Heights'' (2007-09) and Kita Whitmor ...

as Soccer Pal Diana *

Kyle Schmid Kyle Schmid (born August 3, 1984) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Alex Caulder in History's ''Six'', Henry Durham in Syfy's '' Being Human'', Robert Morehouse in BBC America's ''Copper'' and Aaron Abbot in '' The Covenant'' (2006) ...

as Paul Rodman, Carmen's stepbrother *

Mike Vogel Michael James Vogel (born July 17, 1979) is an American actor and former model. Vogel began acting in 2001 and has appeared in several films and series, including ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'', ''Grind' ...

as Eric Richman *

Michael Rady Michael Rady (born August 20, 1981) is an American actor. Career Rady made his acting debut in the feature film '' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'', playing Kostas Dounas, a role he reprised in the sequel, ''The Sisterhood of the Traveli ...

as Kostas Dounas *

Kristie Marsden Kristie Marsden (born ) is a Canadian actress from British Columbia. Career Marsden was the youngest Canadian actress to play the role of ''Sophie'' in the touring edition of the Broadway musical '' Mamma Mia!'' She played the role for 832 perfo ...

as Soccer Pal Olivia *

Emily Tennant Emily Tennant (born August 9, 1990) is a Canadian actress. She played Ivy Young on the Canadian comedy television series '' Mr. Young''. Life and career Tennant was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2000, she played her first role in the ...

as Krista Rodman, Carmen's stepsister *

Leonardo Nam Leonardo Nam (born November 5, 1979) is an Australian actor. He made his breakthrough as Roy in ''The Perfect Score'' (2004), and gained further recognition for his roles as Morimoto in '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and Brian ...

as Brian McBrian *

Rachel Ticotin Rachel Ticotin Strauss is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Fort Apache, The Bronx''; '' Total Recall'', '' Falling Down'', and ''Con Air''. She has appeared in the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: LA'' ...

as Christina *Maria Konstandarou as Yia Yia, Lena's maternal grandmother *George Touliatos as Papou, Lena's maternal grandfather *

Ernie Lively Ernie Lively (born Ernest Wilson Brown Jr.; January 29, 1947 – June 3, 2021) was an American actor and acting coach, and the father of actors Lori Lively, Jason Lively, Robyn Lively, Eric Lively, and Blake Lively. Life and career Lively was b ...

as Franz Vreeland

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

started on May 17, 2004. Filming began on the island of

, Greece. Filming then continued in

Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (, "Saint Luke Cape"), or simply just Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As at the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694 inhabitan ...

, Mexico. The film was partially shot in the Kamloops and Ashcroft area in British Columbia, Canada.

Reception and legacy

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 77% based on 134 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads "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."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gives the film a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 66 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Yahoo! Movies gives the film a rating of "B" based on 13 critic reviews.

Shondaland Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer/producer Shonda Rhimes. She founded it to be one of the production companies of her first s ...

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 has grossed $42,013,878 worldwide. Legacy

Demi Adejuyigbe Oluademilade Adejuyigbe, known professionally as Demi Adejuyigbe ( ; born August 2, 1992), is a British-born American writer, comedian, and social media personality. He is best known for co-hosting the podcast '' Gilmore Guys'', and his work on ...

has mentioned that he coerced director Malcolm D. Lee to have characters from the film appear as background cameos in Space Jam: A New Legacy. Though not confirmed, this was likely a joke given that Adejuyigbe comically suggested to ''“decide how much of this anecdote is real.”''

Home media

The DVD and VHS were released in the US on October 11, 2005. The film has yet to be released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

Soundtrack and score

The song album was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

on May 24, 2005. # "These Days" –

Chantal Kreviazuk Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk (; born May 18, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist. Born in Winnipeg, she played music from a young age before signing with Columbia Records in the 1990s. Her debut studio album, ''Under These ...

(3:57) # "Unwritten" –

Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...

(4:19) # "Time of Our Lives" –

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

(3:37) # "Black Roses Red" –

Alana Grace Alana Grace is an American actress and singer-songwriter who is best known for her song "Black Roses Red" on the soundtrack of ''Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants''. Early life Grace was born in Los Angeles, California, but moved with her fam ...

(4:12) # "If God Made You" (Radio Remix) –

Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock ballads, such as the top 40 hits "Superman (It's Not ...

(4:16) # "Just for You" – William Tell (3:46) # "Closer to You" –

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

(2:54) # "No Sleep Tonight" –

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. Frontwoman and lead guitarist, Mo ...

(3:00) # "I Want You to Know" –

(3:19) # "Be Be Your Love" –

Rachael Yamagata Rachael Yamagata (born September 23, 1977) 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 five EPs and four studio albums. Her ...

(4:14) # "Sun's Gonna Rise" –

Shannon Curfman Shannon Marie Curfman (born July 31, 1985, Fargo, North Dakota) is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer. Career She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, ''Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions'', whi ...

(3:55) # "Simple" –

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

(3:39) # "Always There in You" – Valli Girls (an early track involving members of

HAIM The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim ...

)(3:46) The album of

Cliff Eidelman Clifford Glen Eidelman (born December 5, 1964) is an American composer and conductor who has scored films including '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', '' Free Willy 3: The Rescue'', and '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery''. Biogr ...

's score was released by

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and 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 r ...

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

*2006 – Won; Imagen Foundation Awards for Best Actress (America Ferrera) *2006 – Nominated; ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (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 (America Ferrera) *2005 – Nominated; Satellite Award for Outstanding Youth DVD (Widescreen Edition) *2005 – Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Drama (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

References

External links