Aggressive Bridget (Blake) goes to Mexico for soccer camp; passionate Carmen (America) travels to Charleston, South Carolina to visit her father; quiet Lena (Alexis) spends the summer in Greece with her paternal grandparents; and rebellious Tibby (Amber) is stuck at home in Bethesda, Maryland working at Wallmans and making a documentary. They agree to each wear the jeans for a week at a time, record anything exceptional that happens while wearing them, and then send the pants on to the next person. The jeans, of course, are not magical but rather a symbol of their connectedness.

As I have learned from Screenwriting 101, liberties must often be taken when adapting a novel for the screen. That was certainly one disappointment in the adaptation of Ann Brashares’ charming book by the same name, particularely with Lena's story. But, the critical issue was that two of the actresses failed to emotionally carry their stories and as each tale was equally pivotal to the success of the movie, the final product was not as good as it should have been. Throughout, I fluctuated between sympathizing and crying with the characters and waiting for a scene to be over.

Bridget, still suffering from her mother’s suicide and father’s distance, seeks attention in very unhealthy ways and gets herself into a serious sexual situation at camp. Lena, relaxes a bit and allows herself to fall in love for the first time; unfortunately, her new love is the grandson of her grandfather’s enemy. Blake Lively did not demonstrate strong acting abilities; in fact, she was very weak. But, I did expect more from Alexis Bledel who also failed to dig as deeply as was needed for her story. Conversely, America Ferrara and Amber Tamblyn very successfully portrayed the touching roles of Carmen and Tibby. Carmen arrives in South Carolina and finds that her father is about to get married again, seemingly leaving her out of the picture. She finally has to admit that her real anger has been towards her father all along for leaving her. Tibby, back home in Maryland making her movie, meets the precocious Bailey (Jenna) and learns to care beyond the world of her friends and the true meaning of living life to the fullest.

Brilliantly done in the novel and partially seen in the movie version, the girls’ experiences surpass teenage years and can touch people of all ages on subjects including death, sex, insecurity, fear, and love. Traveling Pants is a good movie for teens and an equally decent matinee for anyone who just wants to see a movie about life’s ups and downs.