'Traveling Pants' Star Ferrera Finds Perfect Fit With Cast

It's a tricky proposition, trying to find four lead actors that have the moxie to pull off an ensemble piece, where one lead doesn't overshadow the others. But there's no question that Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Blake Lively are a perfect fit for the new coming of age adventure "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

Based on Ann Brashares' best-selling novel of the same name, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," in theaters Wednesday, chronicles a special summer for Carmen (Ferrera), Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), Lena (Alexis Bledel) and Bridget (Blake Lively) -- four lifelong friends who are separating for an extended period for the first time.

But before they part ways, the girls go shopping, and in a thrift shop discover a pair of "magic" jeans that fit them all perfectly. From there they form a pact to stay connected via the "traveling pants" -- each wearing them a week at a time for good luck before they mail them on to the other.

Directed by Ken Kwapis, the true magic of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is the how the four leads establish an unbreakable bond. The bond feels so real, in fact, that whenever they are apart on screen and each individual's story plays out, you can still sense the presence of the other three.

"We knew that this movie was contingent upon the audience believing that these girls had such a strong friendship," Ferrera told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "We were lucky and really enjoyed working together. You either click or don't click. You can try to act your way out of it, but the real chemistry was there."

Each character's story in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" follows a decidedly different road.

Bridget is off to soccer camp in Mexico, yet is haunted by a family tragedy, while Lena travels to Greece to discover her family heritage and comes up against her grandmother's headstrong ways. Meanwhile, the rebel of the group, Tibby, remains at home, stuck in a perpetual state of motion making a documentary film (which she terms a "suckumentary"), until a young neighbor (Jenna Boyd) takes her down a path of life she never could have imagined.

As for Carmen, her travels lead her out-of-state to see her long-absent father (Bradley Whitford), who, much to her shock, is starting a new life and family years after he and Carmen's mother divorced.

Of course, Ferrera (who previously shined in "Real Women Have Curves") wants audience members to be entertained by the characters in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," but underneath, she hopes they will learn something from them, too.

"I think it's good for a young person to watch this and know that they're not the only one going through things," said Ferrera, who is 21. "Growing up, I often felt I was the only kid who ever had to deal with stuff. I felt like, 'Everybody else has such of a normal life and here I am and all these problems are mine and nobody else understands them' and 'No one else fights and nobody else's families are even a little dysfunctional.'

"I guess the older you get, you learn that that's not true -- you learn everybody has their problems," she added. "It's nice to see that experience conveyed on-screen and have so many people relate to it and tell you, 'That's my experience.' All of a sudden you don't feel so alone in the things you go through."

One of the things Ferrera found inspiring about the characters was their attitude in the face of adversity. They each had issues to deal with, but stood tall and took them on.

"What I love about the characters is that they were strong, bold, young people that almost acted more adult than the adults around them," Ferrera said. "My character had the bravery to pick up the phone and make a call that her dad did not have the courage to make. He didn't know how to communicate with his daughter so he just shut down. It shows the real complexities of relationships between parents and children and how difficult and challenging that can be."

Apart from having to play a complex character, Ferrera had the challenge of doing it, no less, opposite Whitford -- the "West Wing" star with a gentle demeanor in real life. Plus, his persona in the film was very non-assuming: There was no stereotypical "dead beat dad" character to be found here.

"Brad in real life is a very loving father of three very beautiful children," Ferrera said of Whitford, who's married to "Malcolm in the Middle" star Jane Kaczmarek. "I would imagine it was a tough role for him to do as well, because he is so opposite of what that character was."

At the same time, Ferrera said, Whitford was the perfect person for the role "because he wasn't supposed to be a villain."

"That's what I love about this film -- there are no villains," Ferrera observed. "No one is wrong and no one is right in what they are doing. Life isn't as black and white as there. There is so much honestly in the way these stories are told. Parents can love you and want to do the right thing, but sometimes do not know how. That's why you need friends and people around you that you trust to help make the best person you are and remind you when you forget."