The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: June 1, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
PremiereSara Brady
The film succeeds on the strength of the four actresses, first and foremost America Ferrera, who beautifully essays the role of narrator Carmen. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
It's okay for a grown movie critic to admit she cried freely and with great feeling for more than half the movie, and grinned like a dork through the remainder. Read full review
80
Washington PostScott Moore
The emotional story and fine acting are enough to make this a must-see movie for teen girls. The real surprise is that they can make a grown man cry. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Although targeted primarily for girls in the 12-to-19-year old range, there's enough truth about friendship, love, and life in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to offer solid entertainment to almost anyone who gives it a chance. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerEllen A. Kim
It may set itself up as a girlie film with "Ya-Ya" mystics (complete with candles and chanting), but sheds that motif for a much more grounded (and satisfying) film. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
A junior chick flick. But unlike many of its more mature counterparts, it is emotionally affecting, avoiding the manipulation and formulaic camaraderie that often spoil the genre. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
This is not a great film by any means, too filled with stock characters in stock situations for such praise. But if offers screen time for some fine young actresses, and addresses its story to an audience of teen girls who deserve something to identify with. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
As female-bonding comfort food goes, ''Sisterhood" is that rare meal both adolescent girls and their mothers will be able to agree on. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Always sweet and sometimes surprisingly touching. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Though the story may be cut from the same cloth as the female-empowering "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," it's never as cute, cloying or overbearing as that movie eventually became. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Sisterhood is Stand by Me for girls, as sullen, plucky, melodramatic, exuberant, athletic, graceless, crafty, artistic, arrogant, modest, helpless and resourceful as its teenage heroines. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
An argument could be made that too many bad things happen to the good members of this sisterhood. The movie does occasionally teeter on the brink of soap opera, but then, so does life. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
For such a mush-ball teen movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants carries a welcome amount of grown-up emotional truth. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
You may not literally laugh or cry, as the ads promise. But you'll have a good time watching the dream-fulfilling denims make their comic-romantic rounds. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
More often then not, the relationships and performances are strong and moving, with an effect both breezy-fun and profound. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Ken Tucker
Fortunately, director Ken Kwapis, who's done a lot of briskly unsentimental TV work with young people--"Malcolm in the Middle," most notably--knows how to avoid mawk, keeps the squawk to a minimum, and gets wonderful performances out of at least two of the sisterhood, "Gilmore Girls'" Alexis Bledel as the modest Lena, and America Ferrera ("Real Women Have Curves") as the stubborn Carmen. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Despite a few design flaws, "Pants" should wear well with its young female demo. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Mixes satisfying dollops of fun, tears, travel, romance and lesson-learning in a handsome package whose two hours pass faster than many a grownup entertainment. Read full review
70
Village VoiceEd Park
The multiple story lines can feel choppy, but the dialogue has snap, and the pants' powers never distract from the teenagers' emotions. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Has its share of summery charms, including gorgeous postcard views of Santorini, an old-worldy Romeo-Juliet romance, and some particularly good performances by Tamblyn and Boyd. Read full review
70
The New York TimesLawrence Van Gelder
Of these four plots, the story of Carmen's blended family is by far the most consistently engaging, largely because of the vibrant presence of Ms. Ferrera. Read full review
70
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
May not be much more than a story about girlfriends growing up, and it's not going to score any points for edginess, but it's entertaining in a low-key, non-threatening kind of way. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Except for one manipulative deathbed scene, Ken Kwapis directs with sensitivity, steering the multiple story lines toward a satisfying conclusion. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
The easy, fast-talking rapport between the four young women is The Sisterhood’s biggest selling point. Too bad, then, that the premise demands they spend most of the film away from each other. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Working from a deft script by Delia Ephron, director Ken Kwapis labors hard so that guys won't cringe (too much) as four teen girls, of different body types, pass along the same pair of lucky jeans during a summer of love and loss. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
This is strictly a picture for the target audience, though it seems to hit that target regularly. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
The cast brings its by-the-numbers characters alive. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
By the film's halfway point, the subplots have all started to head in the most obvious directions imaginable, which is too bad, since they all have real potential. Ferrera's story of spending the summer as an out-of-place ethnic element in the milk-white suburbs stays interesting the longest, in large part thanks to her performance. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
The result is a constant feeling of summary, saddled with four times the usual number of after-school issues. Tamblyn is a treat, playing intelligence and anger, and there are some real moments of connection between characters, but the film is hysterical with self-promotion. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Readers hate to see their favorites messed with by filmmakers, and though devotees will notice changes from Brashares' novel -- some slight and some more substantial -- the film remains true to the book's spirit, and the deviations shouldn't alienate them. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Even while trying to access my inner giggly, dreamy adolescent, I found the movie as irritating as a chigger under the skin. The cast is pretty and inoffensive, with America Ferrera, using charisma and fierce emotions to stand out from the pack. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
The finale goes on and on, but the movie is nicely photographed (by John Bailey) and duly empowering, and should please the vast teen-girl audience for which it's intended. Read full review
40
EmpireStaff (Not credited)
There are some engaging moments, but director Ken Kwapis fails to achieve a distinctive tone. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The girls in 'Traveling Pants' are only mannequins wearing someone else's clothes. They don't get inside your head, let alone your heart. Read full review
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