One of Jason’s criticisms of ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’? “The pants didn’t have much to do with the plot”
Travis and Jason Kelce are digging deep into the lore of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
The Monday Night Countdown analyst, 36, and the Kansas City Chiefs star, 35, reviewed the 2005 film in the debut episode of their bonus New Heights podcast, New Heights Film Club, on Wondery+. And while they had a few criticisms, they were united in their take that the film was well-acted, with an interesting plot, and thought it offered a lot of nostalgic re-watch potential.
The movie starred Alexis Bledel (Lena), Amber Tamblyn (Tibby), America Ferrera (Carmen) and Blake Lively (Bridget) as four friends who go their separate ways for a summer, but remain connected by a shared pair of jeans. A sequel dropped in 2008.
The brothers were divided over their thoughts on the moral of the film, with Jason saying early on he thought, “The pants didn’t have much to do with the plot.”
“They were tied into the adventures of everyone,” Travis interjected.
Jason then acknowledged that his wife, Kylie, had chided him for not realizing that the pants were symbolic.
“Kylie said, ‘You idiot, it’s a symbol that their friends are always with him, ‘ ” Jason said.
Jason added that he would have preferred the pants have “magic powers,” adding, “When they didn’t and they were just a pair of jeggings that fit everyone’s shape …”
Still, the brothers agreed that the film was a powerful tale, with Jason saying, “I thought it was an interesting movie. A coming-of-age story that kept my attention enough.”
Of the various storylines in the film, Travis said Bridget’s was “the most relatable” and “most fun,” despite Jason disagreeing.
“How many times did we go to sporting camps in the summer?” Travis said, adding: “It was like nostalgia watching that, thinking about being the one going to … these camps … Hell yeah.”
Being a friend of Lively’s, though, Travis added, “I might have been a little biased.”
Grading the film, Jason said, “I thought the film was well-made,” offering Sisterhood a score of 82% in cinematography, 85% in acting and 73% in directing. For plot, he gave the film a grade of 80% and an overall score of 82%.
Travis backed up his brother’s assessment, saying, “I thought the plot was cool. I think it’s a very unique plot. You don’t hear these kinds of plots anymore in movies. There’s no creativity … everybody wants to recreate an old story.”
While they acknowledged the plot wasn’t necessarily “believable,” Jason said, “I think the plot I liked because … It’s a well thought-out storyline of different things that kids those ages struggle with. I thought it was real. I thought it was really cool it was a sisterhood.”
“They were all very different, but they were united,” Jason added. “It works and it does a great job of showing how people that struggle with those things have to cope … I think we all can connect with these different characters.”
Jason added: “It’s a good movie that ages well, I think, and that tells storylines that are important for women.”
“It was almost nostalgic,” Travis said. “I love watching movies from the early 2000s and ’90s and childhood because it’s almost like you can put yourself in that era of life. And then on top of that, the cinematography and how people are dressing and things like that — you can go back to that part of your life. Honestly, we were growing up in middle school and high school, as these girls were, at the same time.”
Travis did offer one final suggestion, however — that a male-led version of the film be made.
