Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/29/2008 Run time: 119 minutes Rating: Pg

Who would expect a gimmick like a pair of magical pants to be the hook for such a smart, charming, and emotionally rich teen movie? Four close friends discover a pair of pants that fit them all perfectly, even though they're physically very different. Since all four are going in different directions for the summer, they pledge to each wear the pants for a week and then mail them to the next girl. In Greece, Lena (Alexis Bledel, Gilmore Girls) lands in the middle of a Romeo & Juliet family-feud romance; Carmen (America Ferrera, Real Women Have Curves) discovers that her estranged father is about to marry a blonde Southern belle; Bridget (newcomer Blake Lively) flirts with love at a Mexican soccer camp; and Tibby (Amber Tamblyn, Joan of Arcadia) stays home and gets a boring retail job to pay for her documentary film--but finds herself with an unwanted young assistant (Jenna Boyd, The Missing). These four stories manage to cover an amazing amount of ground (touching on race, body issues, divorce, mortality, and more) without resorting to stereotypes or easy resolutions. The engaging characters are brought to vivid life by these four talented actresses, who grab this excellent script and run with it. One of the best movies about teenage life in a long, long time. --Bret Fetzer