Quote of the day!

"Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world."
– Tom Clancy

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

Is 4 really the magic number?

Wondering what that question means exactly? Well, I went to a screening of Sisterhood 2 last night, and some women have brought up a similarity with Sex and the City. Don’t worry, the only thing these movies have in common is four leading ladies. Sisterhood is completely teen friendly and more grounded in reality than Sex and the City, quote coming straight from director Sanaa Hamri’s mouth. I feel better about my own screenplay, Here Come the Bridesmaids, having also four, very different leading ladies. I chose the number for a reason. Each character represents someone I know, and a certain type of women. I also understand why other writers have chosen the number. Four just feels right.

Having read all the books and seen the first movie, I applaud novelist Ann Brashares and the filmmakers for creating something so positive and fun for young women everywhere. It’s refreshing to see women struggling with their identities, settling into their adult lives and exploring their options. It was a very good adaptation of the books. Of course, some of my favorite moments from the book were lost or changed more than I would like to see. But that’s the nature of adapting something, and I think outside a few story beats that didn’t quite work, the movie can stand on its own.

The reviews I’ve read and heard are saying this movie is for young women only. I resent that. Nobody was running around saying Batman was for young men only. Women are expected to see movies that testosterone driven that have almost no female characters, but men won’t be caught dead watching Sisterhood 2? I think it’s time we changed the way we think and behave around movies. Did anyone say Superbad was for young men only? No women would want to watch it? I saw it and liked it. I dare the men out there to go see Sisterhood 2 and learn something about women of all ages. We were all teenagers once. What woman hasn’t had a pregnancy scare? Or a dark family secret? Or felt out of place and insecure in college? Make no mistake, people, there are millions of women stories out there and even more women wanting to see them. I only hope men become brave enough to go see it with us.