Warning: Contains spoilers.
Let's begin with the Bad News, shall we? While Sisterhood was fresh and heartfelt, nothing could have prepared me for the atrocity that was Lena's Storyline. Bledel as Lena was shoddy and silly, not at all as she's meant to be, and Effie, Lena's main confidante in Greece, was completely erased. And while I understand that some characters have to be removed for running time, etc, that doesn't excuse the fact that the entire Lena/Kostos storyline was hacked into unrecognizability.
I'm sure we all remember that part in the book where Lena almost drowns and Kostos saves her, right? Wait, what? And there's also that family feud between the Dounas' and the Kaligaris', of course. Hold up! Obviously, the producers wanted some more drama, a Romeo and Juliet angle, but for those of us wanting the films to stay true to the literature, this was sorely disappointing. Valia was a nut-ball, and not at all as sweet as she should be, plus there were three obnoxious and slutty cousins of Lena who were around to gossip consistently, perhaps as comic relief, but were truly annoying.
Despite this chunk of disappointment, however, the other three girls were very enjoyable, Blake Lively as Bee, especially. Lively, although a newcomer, was fantastic. She channeled Bee perfectly, and was confident, sexy, and funny, but when it really counted, was very convincing when sad and fearful. She and Eric's chemistry was fabulous as well.
The only issue I had with Bee's storyline was the random meeting between Eric and herself in Bethesda in the end of the film, thanks to the magic of the Pants. Bee was just too content with their agreement to be "just friends", even though (once again) the book says otherwise.
The Tibby-Bailey dynamic was also very sweet, if not a little stiff at some points. Brian was almost nowhere to be found, oddly enough. Hopefully they'll make more room for him in the next film.
America Ferrera was also luminous, funny, and angry. And she actually knew how to cry, despite her Greek counterpart. Al, her dad, was a little stiff, too. Actually, the entire step-family was under-represented, including Paul, whose bleach-blondness was unnatural and really took away from the character for me.
All in all, though, Sisterhood was a sweet, sad, and real story that's definitely worth watching. Just watch out if your a lit-to-film-nit-picker like myself. :)
Let's begin with the Bad News, shall we? While Sisterhood was fresh and heartfelt, nothing could have prepared me for the atrocity that was Lena's Storyline. Bledel as Lena was shoddy and silly, not at all as she's meant to be, and Effie, Lena's main confidante in Greece, was completely erased. And while I understand that some characters have to be removed for running time, etc, that doesn't excuse the fact that the entire Lena/Kostos storyline was hacked into unrecognizability.
I'm sure we all remember that part in the book where Lena almost drowns and Kostos saves her, right? Wait, what? And there's also that family feud between the Dounas' and the Kaligaris', of course. Hold up! Obviously, the producers wanted some more drama, a Romeo and Juliet angle, but for those of us wanting the films to stay true to the literature, this was sorely disappointing. Valia was a nut-ball, and not at all as sweet as she should be, plus there were three obnoxious and slutty cousins of Lena who were around to gossip consistently, perhaps as comic relief, but were truly annoying.
Despite this chunk of disappointment, however, the other three girls were very enjoyable, Blake Lively as Bee, especially. Lively, although a newcomer, was fantastic. She channeled Bee perfectly, and was confident, sexy, and funny, but when it really counted, was very convincing when sad and fearful. She and Eric's chemistry was fabulous as well.
The only issue I had with Bee's storyline was the random meeting between Eric and herself in Bethesda in the end of the film, thanks to the magic of the Pants. Bee was just too content with their agreement to be "just friends", even though (once again) the book says otherwise.
The Tibby-Bailey dynamic was also very sweet, if not a little stiff at some points. Brian was almost nowhere to be found, oddly enough. Hopefully they'll make more room for him in the next film.
America Ferrera was also luminous, funny, and angry. And she actually knew how to cry, despite her Greek counterpart. Al, her dad, was a little stiff, too. Actually, the entire step-family was under-represented, including Paul, whose bleach-blondness was unnatural and really took away from the character for me.
All in all, though, Sisterhood was a sweet, sad, and real story that's definitely worth watching. Just watch out if your a lit-to-film-nit-picker like myself. :)