The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The real story is not the magic pants, but the coming-of-age each girl faces | Andrew Coffin

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a difficult movie to pin down. On the one hand, the teen drama, based on Ann Brashares' popular novel, employs an abundance of cliches and traffics in some frustrating Hollywood conventions (notably, quick-fix syndrome). But the film also reaches for depths of emotion and circumstance that will almost certainly resonate with many in its intended audience–and even some outside that limited sphere.

Ms. Brashares' story, adapted for the screen by Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandlet and directed by Ken Kwapis (Dunston Checks In), follows four high-school girls–longtime best friends–as they spend their first summer apart. Holding them together are the title pants, a "magic" pair of jeans that miraculously fits all four (despite their obvious size differences).