The four stars of Sisterhood are back for this smart, confident second act, based on novels by Anne Brashares.

Even cynics might concede that, again, four capable actresses have pulled off a relatively rare thing: They've convinced us they're an honest-to-God movie sisterhood.

Given the juiciest plotline, Tamblyn goes for it, turning in a hard-boiled performance that's a needed contrast to her co-stars' tendency to go for sweet.

The resulting drama is more deeply felt than it is deep. But I can't think of another film so frankly dealing with what we expect from friendship, so tenderly showing how friends can fail in one area, yet be there in another.

Everything that "Sex and the City" wanted to be. It follows the lives of four women, their career adventures, their romantic disasters and triumphs, their joys and sadness. These women are all in their early 20s, which means they are learning life's lessons; "SATC" is about forgetting them.

Turns out to be a lot less tiresome than it sounds, aided by a wonderfully appealing cast and a strong message.

As chick flicks go, this is one men can attend with the expectation that they might just enjoy experiencing two hours alongside these down-to-earth, appealing characters.

For Carmen, Tibby, Lena, and Bridget, their sisterhood shines even brighter the second time around.

This sequel improves on the 2005 original about four friends.

It's a relief to go to the movies and see teenage girls acting like teenage girls, as opposed to grown women acting like teenage girls.

This is pure, escapist fun -- skepticism and naysaying are best left at home.

A shapely sequel that retains much of the sparkle and warmth that made the original such a pleasant surprise.

It's all largely eye candy, especially the men, although this can be forgiven: Women have a long enough history of being superficial in the movies, and a little payback is perfectly understandable.

Blandly engaging sequel.