The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008)

(On Cable TV, May 2022) Sometimes, the only way forward is through – having recorded a double-bill of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel, I knew there was never going to be a better time to watch the second film than right after the first one. I still had the (rather bland) characters well-established in mind, didn’t expect much from the conceit of the magically-fitting pants, and still felt reasonably well-intentioned toward the series. Picking up two or three years after the first film, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 once again goes to the same plot template by splitting up our college-aged characters for the summer, each one going away for a specific kind of wish-fulfillment adventure. Yes, we’re back on Greek Islands, but this time around the other characters go to Turkey for an archeological dig (and grand-maternal revelations); to Vermont for a theatrical workshop; and New York City for, well, ordinary life. It all climaxes in picturesque Greece with all four friends pledging once again to be BFFs – we wouldn’t have it any other way. The pants are almost absent here – it’s all romantic and affective subplots. It generally works well – although I had to laugh when the film clearly affirmed that being an actress was far more desirable than being a good backstage technician. (Guess which one reliably makes the most money…)  Like the first film, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is not a film made for me, but it’s still quite tolerable to “watch” when doing some cleaning within audio/visual range of the TV. “Bearable” may not seem like much of a compliment, but it is – at least if you also saw the much-worse movies I see on a regular basis.