REEL CRITICS:

The teenage girls from the first “Sisterhood” movie are now young women of college age. They’re off on a new set of life adventures as their paths take them farther apart. The close relationships they all shared are now stretched to greater limits that strain the intimacy they once had.

Still, their mutual friendship survives despite many trials and tribulations. Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel are the cute babes of the story. But the plot really revolves around the character played with verve by America Ferrera of “Ugly Betty” fame. It’s her depth and understanding that overcome the forces that might end their friendship. She helps recover the respect and trust at the core of the fabled Sisterhood.

In the end, this good-hearted film is certainly a chick flick. But it has enough real moments, life lessons and well-earned tears to place it a cut above the genre. It might even offer something for the sensitive guys out there.

‘Express’ rides high on hilarity, despite editing

As a sort of follow-up to last year’s “Superbad,” two clueless potheads are thrown into a loopy web of drug wars and hilarious mayhem in “Pineapple Express.”

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a process server, a man-child who smokes pot all day and is dating a senior in high school. Saul (James Franco) is his dealer, a sweet guy who watches TV and also smokes weed all day in grubby pajamas and stringy hair.

As a special customer, Saul introduces Dale to his primo product — the fateful Pineapple Express of the title.

As it turns out, Dale witnesses a killing and his use of that particular brand enables the killers to track him down.

Rogen and Franco are pretty hilarious at being so earnestly addled, and Danny McBride steals all his scenes as Saul’s geeky supplier.

He tries to act tough, but how many drug dealers around would bake a cake for their dead cat?

The action is inspired, especially a car chase with Saul driving with one foot stuck through the windshield.

The violence feels more playful than threatening, like a kid’s cartoon.

“Pineapple Express” doesn’t make a lot of sense and could definitely have used some editing, but it’s undeniably laugh-out-loud funny.

I just hope that writers Rogen and Evan Goldberg (who also wrote “Superbad”) will eventually grow out of the fratboy mentality and give us something a little less stoopid.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.