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This is supposed to be a review of a movie, but life creeps into it. My husband already deserves sainthood because he rented this movie because I like Alexis Bledel’s other work.

The only problem was that my medical condition is messing with my hormones. The side effect listed is “mood swings.??? It should say “warning: the stupidest little thing will cause one to burst into a crying fit for 60-90 seconds. Spouses should be warned.??? So not only were we watching a completely girly, teenage Steel Magnolias, I was bursting into tears every 10-15 minutes for no reason, then abruptly stopping.

The movie was actually a very good “coming of age??? film. Four friends share a pair of pants with each other for their first summer apart. They attribute the changes in their lives to the magic of the pants, then come to the realization that their lives changed because they had to change.

The best acting in the film comes from Bradley Woodford during a scene in which he is on the phone receiving difficult news. His face is covered with his hand, and he is frozen in place. I can remember that pose while having difficult conversations. It would have been easy to act facing forward, but the impact of seeing his shrinking into himself was much greater.

Don’t expect a big epic. It’s a nice, clean movie about being a 16-year-old girl; a fun Ephron take on real life. There are a few overly convenient coincidences but I think a movie about magic pants deserves a little leeway.

So erratic crying aside, I’d recommend the film to parents and young teenagers.

[rate 3]