AUDIENCES who looked past the unwieldy title of the original The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants back in 2005 were rewarded with a well written and impeccably acted coming-of-age story.

Aimed at teenage girls, the charming film charted the upheavals and roller-coaster romantic travails of four friends, united by the discovery of a pair of jeans, which magically fitted them all.

The mystical denims travelled the globe with the girls as they found love, compassion and a greater understanding of their parents' failings.

All of the original cast reunite under new director Sanaa Hamri for this lacklustre sequel, which should have gone straight to DVD.

Ugly Betty star America Ferrara benefits from her rising status by enjoying slightly more screen time than her co-stars on this occasion, playing the supposedly ugly duckling gifted a chance to break the mould.

Screenwriter Elizabeth Chandler, who penned the first film, drizzles cloying sentiment more obviously but still manages to navigate the minefield of cliched adolescent angst to find moments of self-reflection and pathos.

Fate conspires to separate best friends Carmen (Ferrera), Bridget (Lively), Lena (Bledel) and Tibby (Tamblyn) for another summer.