Four young women have a special bound of friendship, which is represented by a single pair of pants they share amongst themselves. The lead character is Carmen (played by America Ferrera). She goes to Yale. Tibby (played by Amber Tamblyn) goes to NYU. Bridgette (played by Blake Lively) made the soccer team at Brown. Lena (played by Alexis Bledel) is on scholarship at Rhode Island School for Design. The young women normally meet for the summer, but when they get together, right before summer vacation; they learn all have separate plans. They plan, as they always have done, to exchange the pants between themselves, each keeping them for a week.
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Bridgette goes to Turkey to work on an archeological dig. That summer, she is the first one to wear the pants. Carmen goes to Vermont to be in a summer theater group. Carmen falls for one of the guys, Ian (played by Tom Wisdom) who is an actor in the play. He encourages her to audition. Lena gets a FedEx box. It has the pants from Bridgette. Lena is the next to wear the pants. Lena takes an art class. She meets a guy Leo (played by Jesse Williams) who is a nude model for the art class. She is shy at first, but when she is wearing the pants, he invites her out. They cook a gourmet meal together and start falling for each other. Tibby works in a video store. She has an Asian boyfriend named Brian (played by Leonardo Nam). They have sex and his condom breaks. She is worried she might be pregnant. She starts obsessing over this, especially when her period is late, noticing screaming babies everywhere she goes. She avoids her boyfriend and is very confused about what she should do. Carmen works backstage but the guy she met forces her to audition for the play and unexpectedly she gets a principal role. She is the next to get the pants. Carmen sends them to Tibby. Tibby wears them asking for a miracle. Tibby learns she is not pregnant.
Bridgette goes to visit her grandmother Greta (played by Blythe Danner) who her father prevented her from knowing. Greta is surprised because she has not seen her granddaughter for many years, since she last visited at the age of six. Bridgette tells her, all her letters where hidden from her by her father. They try to fix their relationship and share the sadness over Bridgette's mother who committed suicide.
Kostos (played by Michael Rady) who is Lena's ex-boyfriend shows up. He apologizes for hurting her. He divorced his wife and now wants to get back together with her. She thinks she is over him and is attracted to Leo. Nevertheless, she still likes Kostos. Leo tells her he does not want to be in a relationship.
Tibby visits Carmen to talk with her about why Tibby broke up with Brian but Carmen is upset Ian is dating her girlfriend Julia (played by Rachel Nichols) so she is distracted. Bridgette has a nightmare about her dead mother. Greta tells her that her mother was sick with depression and there was nothing they could do to save her. Even her father tried to get her to go to the hospital she refused. Greta and Bridgette comfort each other. Tibby runs into Brian at a party dating one of Tibby's friends. Carmen's mother goes into labor. Carmen calls Tibby to help her since Carmen is at a dress rehearsal. Tibby helps her give birth. She has a baby boy. Carmen messes up the dress rehearsal. Ian tries to make it up to Carmen. Ian tells Carmen, Julia is the one who asked him out. Ian tells Carmen she is the one he likes, not Julia. Carmen overhears Julia saying bad things about her to the director. It is obvious Julia is trying to sabotage her. Bridgette tells her father she spoke with her grandmother and she understands now, after speaking with her grandmother, how no one could have kept her mom from committing suicide.
Tibby makes up with Brian. Tibby sends Carmen a video of the new baby. Carmen's mom and Tibby wish her well in her performance. Carmen gives a magnificent performance to a standing ovation. Carmen rushes off stage, gives Ian a big kiss. The pants come back to Lena. Her sister Effie (played by Lucy Hale) is distraught because, Brian will not see her anymore now he is back with Tibby. Effie steals the pants. Effie loses the pants on a trip in Greece.
All the young women get back together before the end of the summer to talk about everything that happened to the other ones, and they learn from Lena the pants are missing, lost somewhere in Greece. Lena goes to Greece to look for the pants. All the young women go to Greece to be together which is what the pants are supposed to do for them. They put up posters about the lost pants.
Lena runs in to Kostos. Kostos wishes her good luck in helping her find what she is really looking for. He tells her he is leaving the next day to go to London where he was accepted by the university. He tells her there is a full moon coming and they call it the sailor's moon. Lat that night, she meets him on his boat in the harbor. They admit neither one can stop loving the other one. They get back together, promising each other they will work it out somehow. Lena comes home as the sun rises. Later in the day, all four young women are having a good time and even jump in the sea together for an impromptu swim. They do not find the pants but they find their friendship is as strong as ever.
Best part of story, including ending:
The friendships between the young women are complex and at the same time very meaningful.
Best scene in story:
I like the scene where Bridgette makes peace with her grandmother Greta and finally understands why her mother committed suicide because it is endearing.
Opinion about the main character:
Carmen makes a lot of progress in this movie, learning to accept herself better and letting her talents shine, which is really wonderful to see.
