by SARAH ROWLAND

While three quarters of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants feels tailor-made for preteen sensibilities, there's one glaringly adult theme that will no-doubt fly over the heads of any moviegoer under the age of 12.

Based on Ann Brashares' novel of the same title, the story follows four lifelong friends who are spending the summer apart for the first time. As a way of keeping in touch, these overly sentimental 16-year-old girls decide to take turns wearing the same pair of jeans, which they think possess magic powers because the worn-in denims miraculously fit all of their varying body types.

Meet the girls: Bridget, a leggy star athlete (played by what must be the love child of Elaine Irwin and Jerry Hall, Blake Lively); Carmen, a portly Puerto Rican (played by a well-padded actress who clearly didn't have to gain weight for the role, America Ferrera); Tibby, an average-build punk rock rebel (played with spray-on angst by Amber Tamblyn) and the delicate, waif-like creature Lena (played by the movie's main attraction, Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls).

Most of the coming-of-age vacation adventures in this movie are so lightweight and morally spelled out that only pre-pubescent girls living in Pleasantville could sit through it. Lena learns to love while visiting her grandparents in Greece. Carmen comes to terms with her parents' divorce while visiting her father in North Carolina. Cynical Tibby sees the beauty in life after befriending a neighbour with terminal cancer.

But when it comes to Bridget's character, director Ken Kwapis seems to forget who his target audience is. The gorgeous blonde, still mourning the death of her mother, is sent to soccer camp, only to end up balling her coach. (Though we only see a PG-rated kiss, the loss of virginity is clear to those of us over 13.) Realizing that she was trying to fuck the pain away, she quickly slips into a post-cherry-poppin' depression. Now thinking back to the skanky Betties I hung out with in grade 11, Bridget's predicament is totally relatable to the average high school girl. But I'm pretty sure the emotional impact of her actions was lost on all the Avril-obsessed 10-year-olds at the advance screening.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is now playing

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