In the Land of Women

The Kasdan Family has made a significant mark on the better films of Hollywood and Jon Kasdan (writer/director of IN THE LAND OF WOMEN) holds those values of fine cinema intact. Having appeared as an actor in some films of his father Lawrence Kasdan (Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, Body Heat, Mumford, Dreamcatcher, The Bodyguard, etc), he has not only inherited his father's credo of making meaningful statements about life as we are currently living it, he has absorbed the fluid character development of those films and added his own sensitive touch with graceful dialog. He is a talent to watch.

Soft porn writer Carter Webb (Adam Brody in a very fine performance) lives in Los Angeles near his depressed mother (JoBeth Williams) and has just been dumped by his actress girlfriend Sofia Buñuel (Elena Anaya). When his mother learns of her mother's failing state, the distraught Carter offers to travel to suburban Michigan to stay with his grandma Phyllis (Olympia Dukakis). Once in picturesque Michigan Carter deals with his lovable but eccentric grandma and meets the across the street neighbors - mother Sarah (Meg Ryan in fine form), daughters Lucy (Kristin Stewart) and the younger Paige (Makenzie Vega), and errant husband Nelson (Clark Gregg). In this setting of a 'woman world' Carter is key to aiding the various maladies of each of the women while addressing his own disappointing failed relationship. The manner in which he intervenes by simply being present and tender and caring makes a positive impact on not only those around him but also on his own life and talent as a meaningful writer.

In what could have been a soupy chick flick Jon Kasdan has instead provided a script that has a healthy dose of homespun philosophy and has guided his multi-talented cast to offer some of their finest moments on film. This is an entertaining movie, but it is also a balm for viewers who have experienced life-threatening illness, broken homes, coping with the elderly, and ultimately coping with death. It simply works. Grady Harp, October 07

I whole-heartedly enjoyed "In The Land of Women" when I first saw it back in April during its brief run in cinemas. Needless to say, I have been so looking forward to the DVD release since then.

I just got my DVD today, and it is completely a bare bones disc, unless you count the trailers at the beginning of the disc. A good movie, but a poor DVD release.

`In the Land of Women' had great potential to be a dramatic and moving character study. Sadly it focuses too much on being appealing to the teenage crowd and so it loses a sense a maturity in parts. It is still a good movie; in fact my wife and I enjoyed it very much, I just feel that it could have, and should have been better. There are things placed within this film that you can tell are there to draw a particular crowd, but then there are moments that scream out with a subtle maturity that I only wish had been consistent throughout.

The film revolves around Carter Webb, a screenwriter for the adult entertainment industry. After his celebrity girlfriend Sophia breaks his heart he decides it would be a good idea for him to leave the L.A. life behind and find himself. So, when his mother informs him that his grandmother is paranoid she may die soon he takes that as his opportunity of escape and makes the trip out to Michigan to visit her. His grandmother Phyllis is apparently delusional, but she a riot and so it's a welcomed delusion. Carter soon meets the Hardwicke's who live across the street from Phyllis. He soon forms an attachment with the mother Sarah and the teenage daughter Lucy and throughout their time together they change each others lives drastically.

The Hardwicke family has a lot of demons trapped in the closet, especially Sarah and Lucy, and for some reason they feel a comfortableness with Carter that allows them to get things off their chest. There is truth in the idea that there lies a certain comfort with strangers and I think that plays a large role in understanding this film. Some have balked at the fact that Sarah and Lucy would not divulge huge family secrets to a complete stranger but I beg to differ. Sometimes we need sounding boards and it's much easier to sound off on someone not emotionally invested in your or your problems, someone that can't judge you because they don't know you. Sarah and Lucy have a lot they keep bottled up because there is no one for them to talk to about, but now they have Carter.

Adam Brody has been breaking out in a large way the past few years due to his stint on `The O.C.' and this is really his first leading role. He handles it well enough. There are certain aspects of his character I felt were forced in order to make him `cool' in the eyes of teenagers and I didn't particularly like that. Kristen Stewart's (can you believe this is the same little girl from `Panic Room'?) character Lucy is another one of those overly clichéd characters. Every stereotype in the book is thrown at her as far as how a rebellious teenage daughter would act. She handles the role decently enough; I just wish they would have given her more. Olympia Dukakis is hilarious as Phyllis and she has some of the most memorable lines. The real standout here though is Meg Ryan who tackles her `sick mom' character with real warmth and conviction. As Sarah you feel really connected to her. I have always love Meg Ryan and really wish she would be given more attention. She is a very capable actress who deserves more accolades for her impressive body of work.

In the end `In the Land of Women' works well. It fleshes out some nice character traits, especially when in regards Carter and Sarah whose relationship is the most interesting of all. I wish they had dropped the stereotypes though; left out the token party scene or the `teenage smoking' bit but it's not really enough to complain too much. There are such sweet moments (one I particularly enjoyed was when Carter sits down to write the children's book he told his grandmother he wrote for a living) that I began to really wish the script had been tweaked to reach an older audience. I guess that is my only complaint. This is a film targeted towards the young when if it had been adjusted to target the middle-aged crowd could have turned into a genuinely moving adult drama. Instead it remains a very well constructed teenage drama. Three and a half stars for a film that with a little more maturity could have easily been four and a half or even five.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 49 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars