Sisters and Brothers:
So the flu is receeding but still hanging around. Last night, instead of throwing up, I watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I’ve been eager to see and Suzan’s been razzing me about (“You’re such a girl” she said, which is true).
Let me say this: Chick flicks get a bad rap. Yes, this is a movie about 4 girlfriends, their summer apart and the mythical pair of jeans that fit them all and bring about good fortune when worn. There is a love interest or two, mostly forgetable. At heart, this is really a movie about friendship and loyalty, about the fear of growing up and the safety your friends provide, even more than your family. These are gender neutral values last time I looked. Just because it stars 4 young women doesn’t mean it’s got to be all prom dresses and mall walking anymore than a movie starring 4 young men has to be all sandlot football and morning erections.
I know movies, like everything, need to be marketed, need to reach for the most obvious audience first and then hope ancilliary ones catch on. It’s a shame though when a movie like this–sweat, natural, and quite enjoyable to a 32 year old man with no sisters–gets billed as a purseful of fluff for a teenage girl, 120 minutes of makeovers and slumber parties. In Sisterhood, even when one girl wants to squeal about the hottie she hooked up with that summer, her friends groan and change the subject.
Beneath the fluff, there’s room for all of us, I hope.