Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

After seeing the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and loving it, I was excited when I saw the previews for a sequel.

If you haven't seen the first Sisterhood movie, the sequel opens with a nice introduction of the characters and summary of events from the previous film, narrated by Carmen (America Ferrera). Carmen's been looking forward to the summer after her first year at Yale, because she will be reunited in her hometown with her three Friends of the Pants: Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), Lena (Alexis Biedel), and Bridget (Blake Lively). They jointly own this pair of really cute jeans, which somehow fits all of them even though they're hardly the same size, so everyone gets to take turns. But it turns out that all four have plans that will keep them from hanging out together, so the pants will have to travel from friend to friend once again.

The three years since we first met them have seen the girls mature and so has the story: sexual discovery, heartbreak, abandonment and forgiveness are on the menu as the girls face adulthood. Perhaps the magical, good karma-bestowing pants that act as a way from them all to stay connected via FedEx have started to fray, destined to be put away with the childish things of girlhood.

Simply, this was a sweet and satisfying time spent in the company of characters we like and understand that ultimately confirms the importance of women's friendship.

Definitely, Maybe

Definitely, Maybe was the movie of choice this weekend.

The movie starts out as one thing but it metamorphoses into something different. This romantic comedy/drama is structured in such a way that the outcome does not feel predetermined.

On the same day Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) receives the divorce papers from his wife's lawyer, his 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), has had her first sex-ed class at school, and is bursting with questions: Why do people have sexual intercourse if they don't want a baby? Did you have sex with anyone other than Mom? How did you meet Mom anyway, and were you ever in love with anyone else? Will finally agrees to tell Maya the whole story of how he met and fell in love with her mother, but he's going to change a few key details, like peoples' names - it'll be up to Maya (and the audience) to figure out which of the three major "suspects" Will will eventually marry. It could be Emily (Elizabeth Banks), Will's college sweetheart, Summer (Rachel Weisz), an old friend of Emily's, who is a little on the wild side, or a fellow co-worker April (Isla Fisher), who doesn't think much of marriage but thinks a lot of friendship. With the exception of occasional breaks in the "future" with Will and Maya, the story progresses in chronological fashion. It details Will's relationships will all three women and, until late in the proceedings, leaves open the question of who Maya's mother is.

Please pay attention to the PG-13 rating on this one...it has some very frank sexual dialog. Since I'm just a few years older than 13 **ah-hem** it was okay for my mom to take me to this one, and we both enjoyed it.

P.S. I Love You

Despite the all of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, mom and I were able to make it out to a movie today. **Chick Flick Alert** We chose to see P.S. I Love you, which is based on a best selling novel by Cecilia Ahern. If you decide to go see this movie, you may want to make sure to bring some extra tissues along.

P.S. I Love You is one of those painful films that makes you cry right off the bat, then lifts you up with some choice comedy only to slap you in the face with a heart-breaking flashback. But despite the extremely depressing subject matter, it still emanates an aura of hope.

The film opens with Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) and her Irish husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) fighting over a seemingly innocuous comment Gerry made to Holly’s mother. Just when the couple realizes how much they need one another, the film cuts ahead several months to Gerry’s funeral, where Holly is absolutely devastated. On Holly's 30th birthday she receives the first of a series of letters that Gerry composed during his battle with a brain tumor, which were to be delivered to Holly after his death, each ending with the phrase “P.S. I Love You.” As each letter arrives, Holly struggles with the memories of her past as her two best friends Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon), and the shamelessly blunt bartender Daniel (Harry Connick Jr.), all struggle to get her to start anew.

Ultimately, the film serves to prove that annoying adage you hear after every break-up, "‘Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” is true. You will not be disappointed with this movie. It is not an academy award winning film, but it is a tearjerker and definitely makes you go home home and hug your significant other and be more appreciative to have them in your life.


Although this movie seemed a little long at times, mom and I really enjoyed seeing it.

Catch and Release

For the second weekend in a row, mom and I didn't make it out to go see a movie; instead, we spend our time shopping, again - 'tis the season. I feel certain that we will be back on the movie track come next weekend. There are several movies coming out soon that we have on our list...

Before you start feeling too sorry for me, that I didn't get to go to the movies, I should tell you that I did get to see a good movie that came out earlier this year called Catch and Release. Mom and I never went to see it but it was on cable Saturday night and it sounded good so I watched it.

This was a wonderful romantic comedy starring Jennifer Garner, as Gray, who is struggling to deal with the death of her fiancé and the secrets she discovers that he kept from her.

I don't know how we missed this one, but I can't recall ever hearing about it. Excellent little movie! Definitely one for the collection - which apparently my husband thought I would enjoy too, since he got it for my birthday and I forgot. I'm only sorry I didn't watch it sooner but, now that I know I've got my very own copy, I can watch it any time I want.