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 star in the film. It was directed by Sanaa Hamri and screenplay by Elizabeth Chandler, who wrote the previous film. The film is based upon the fourth novel in the book series: Forever in Blue (2007), but incorporates scenes and storylines from The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003) and Girls in Pants (2004).

It is the second installment of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants film series and was released in theaters on August 6, 2008.

Plot
In the summer following their first year of college, we revisit four friends who have been apart all year and plan to spend their summer apart until a magical old pair of pants reunites them. Bridget (Blake Lively) visits her grandmother Greta (Blythe Danner) in Alabama to ask about her mother's suicidal depression. Lena (Alexis Bledel) finds her former flame Kostas (Michael Rady) married in Greece. Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) goes through a pregnancy scare with her boyfriend Brian, and alienates Carmen. Carmen (America Ferrara) auditions for the role of Perdita in a Vermont acting workshop.

Bridget discovers her father (Ernie Lively) had hidden letters from her grandmother Greta and she rejects his explanation that he wanted to protect her. In Turkey, she immerses herself in an archaeological dig under Professor Nasrin Mehani (Shohreh Aghdashloo), who notices how glibly Bridget treats the past. After reading her grandmother's letters, Bridget leaves the dig early to visit Greta in Alabama, where she learns that her mother, who committed suicide, denied having depression. Though Bridget's father had accepted this, Greta could not and cut ties with both of them. When she worries that she will become unhappy like her mother, Greta assures Bridget that she is stronger than her mother. The conversation brings Bridget and Greta closer together, and allows Bridget to reconcile with her father.

Lena has gone to mourn the death of Bapi in Greece, but discovers her old boyfriend Kostas is married and his wife is pregnant. She returns to the Rhode Island School of Design and begins dating Leo (Jesse Williams), the model for her life class. When Kostas comes to see her, revealing that marriage was annulled after his wife revealed she was never pregnant, Lena forgives him but refuses him because she does not believe they are the same people any more. However, after spending time with Leo, she realizes some people only fall in love once and she still cares for Kostas.

Tibby has been working at a video store in New York while retaking a NYU screenwriting class that requires her to finish her script. She's dating Brian (Leonardo Nam) and sleeps with him, but the condom breaks. Afraid that she might be pregnant, she withdraws from her friends, using her script as an excuse. She breaks up with Brian and gives Lena's younger sister, Effie (Lucy Hale), permission to date him. Lena brings Tibby a requested pregnancy test kit, but Tibby gets her period before she takes it. Tibby drives to Vermont, hoping for Carmen's support. After arguing over who ignores the other more, Tibby leaves. She ends going to Brian's house and apologizes, confessing that she had been afraid dealing with change. Realizing that he loves Tibby, Brian breaks up with Effie.

Carmen attends an actor workshop in Vermont, prompted by fellow Yale student, Julia (Rachel Nichols). Julia is comfortable in the acting world and friends with the director, Bill (Kyle MacLachlan), while Carmen is uncertain of where she belongs. After accidentally dropping a curtain on classmate Ian (Tom Wisdom) during his audition for The Winter's Tale, they watch Julia audition for the lead in Perdita and Ian encourages Carmen to try. Carmen talks about how she connects with Perdita, winning her the part, while Julia, though clearly jealous, promises to help Carmen. Initially uncertain about her acting abilities, Carmen grows more confident when her talent is recognized by the director and the other actors, including Ian, with whom she begins a flirtatious friendship. Julia grows more jealous, and her competition for Ian upsets Carmen. Carmen believes Ian would prefer to be with Julia, so she declines his offers to practice and falters in rehearsals. Also, feeling her friends ignored her all year, she pushes Tibby away, but reconciles with her after her mother Christina (Rachel Ticotin) goes into labor. Carmen asks Tibby to help after she and her stepfather (Paul Coughlan) cannot get to the hospital in time. Ian comforts Carmen, who is distressed over missing her mother's labor. Ian prefers Carmen to Julia, who pursues him. Carmen overhears Julia tell director Bill to replace Carmen, but he does not. She performs spectacularly, regains confidence, and kisses Ian after the play. While packing to leave, she finally tells Julia off.

Effie, upset with Brian breaking up with her and how Lena seems to love her friends more than her own sister, steals the Pants and loses them in Greece while visiting her grandmother. The Sisterhood disagrees over whether the Pants are worth saving, so Lena travels to Greece first. The other girls follow to help, and convince the reluctant Lena to take back Kostas. Although they do not find the Pants, the summer ends in Greece with a renewal of their mutual commitment to each other.

Cast

 * Amber Tamblyn as Tibby Rollins
 * Alexis Bledel as Lena Kaligaris
 * America Ferrera as Carmen Lowell
 * Blake Lively as Bridget Vreeland
 * Michael Rady as Kostas Dounas
 * Leonardo Nam as Brian McBrian
 * Jesse Williams as Leo
 * Tom Wisdom as Ian
 * Lucy Hale as Effie Kaligaris
 * Rachel Nichols as Julia Beckwith
 * Shohreh Aghdashloo as Prof. Nasrin Mehani
 * Blythe Danner as Greta
 * Rachel Ticotin as Christina
 * Ernie Lively as Mr. Vreeland
 * Carly Rose Sonenclar as Katherine Rollins
 * Kyle MacLachlan as Bill Kerr (uncredited)

Production
Principal photography started on the island of Santorini, Greece in Oia and continued in Connecticut. Western Connecticut State University was used for the scenes of Lena at the Rhode Island School of Design campus. Tibby's scenes were filmed in New York City.

Soundtrack and score

 * 1) Rock & Roll - Eric Hutchinson
 * 2) Together - Michelle Branch
 * 3) Sunset Man - James Otto
 * 4) No One's Aware - Jack Savoretti
 * 5) Warm Whispers - Missy Higgins
 * 6) Friday Night - Craig David
 * 7) Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit) - Noisettes
 * 8) 5 times out of 100 - Hot Hot Heat
 * 9) Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
 * 10) You Are Mine - Mutemath
 * 11) Strange & Beautiful - Aqualung

In addition, Varèse Sarabande released an album of the film's score, composed by Rachel Portman (unlike the film's stars, composer Cliff Eidelman did not return for the sequel).


 * 1) Sisterhood (3:29)
 * 2) Kostas (:44)
 * 3) Carmen And Ian Rehearse (2:39)
 * 4) Welcome Home (1:07)
 * 5) Bridget (3:20)
 * 6) The Letters (2:43)
 * 7) Lena (4:14)
 * 8) Tibby (4:07)
 * 9) Carmen (3:52)
 * 10) Well Worn Pair Of Pants (1:39)

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 65% approval rating based on 98 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads "The workable chemistry among the four leads combined with the enriching message make for a winning Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2". Similarly, Metacritic gave the film a 63/100 score based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

On its opening weekend, the film performed better than its predecessor, opening #4 at the box office with $10,678,430. As of November 7, 2008, the film had grossed $44,080,484 domestically.

DVD release
The DVD and Blu-ray were released in the United States on November 18, 2008. In Australia, the film was released straight-to-DVD.

Awards

 * 2009 - Nominated; Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Romance

Sequel
A film based on the book sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, has been announced and it will produced by Alloy Entertainment.