In the Land of Women (2007) User Reviews (91)

Carter Webb should go to White Castle

[Chris Knipp · 7/10 · 27 April 2007]

This new film starring Adam Brody of TV's "The OC" might win some kind of prize for sweet wishy-washiness were it not for the feisty grandma played by Olympia Dukakis -- an attempt to achieve "edge" that will, however, be instantly blown away if you watch a couple minutes of the late, great Nancy Marchand playing Tony Soprano's deadly mom. A well-meaning effort with scenes punctuated by lite rock, In the Land of Women is essentially about Adam Brody, a rangy young man of undeniable charm who resembles the young Tom Hanks -- except that he's cuter -- and has a lot less to do here than Hanks did in his early films. Meg Ryan is "taking her first cautious baby steps in a maternal, older-woman mode and maintaining her footing," Stephen Holden of the NYTimes says. But Ryan maintains her "footing" by simply acting the same starry-eyed blonde she's always been, albeit with a serious challenge to face (breast cancer--but all is well by film's end). Ryan looks like Brody's older sister, not a Mrs. Robinson, and the comparisons to The Graduate seem hard to credit. A few walks and a kiss do not a sexual coming of age make, but anyway Carter Webb (Brody's über-WASP name in the film), being 26 in 2007, doesn't need an intro to sex. He's had that earlier, doubtless long before the relationship with Latina movie starlet Sophia (Elena Anaya) whose termination is the plot's ho-hum beginning.

Being a LA movie brat like his brother Jake, Jon Kasdan makes Carter a marginal film writer (of soft-core porn) born and raised in LA. When Sophia dumps him he goes to Michigan to watch over his putatively senile grandmother (or is she just preternaturally blunt? the screenplay isn't quite sure), escape from the source of his love pain, and maybe write the novel about his high school life that he's been futzing around with for over a decade. Who should be grandma's neighbor but Meg, here called Sarah Hardwicke, with a sexy blonde daughter, an adulterous husband, and a potentially tragic illness, just discovered? (Cancer: can a story like this go anywhere unsentimental with that?)

From his weepy intro when he gets the gate from Sophia in a diner, Carter is nothing but a teddy bear, so it's appropriate that the novel he finally completes has "teddy bear" in the title.

The "land of women" in question consists of Ryan and her character's two daughters, an inarticulate, put-upon teenager (Lucy: Kristen Stewart) and a prematurely wise younger sister (Paige: Makenzie Vega). And of course grandma Dukakis, whose words of unexpected wisdom are overshadowed by her repeated assertions that she is about to die. Dukakis' Phyllis is a shtick that never quite comes off. Is this really Michigan? All we know is the neighborhood is upper-bourgeois and that Meg's front yard contains masses of flowers in full bloom it would take a team of half a dozen full time gardeners to maintain. It could just as well be New Jersey.

John Hughes and The Breakfast Club are mentioned -- a fatal mistake. Everything in this bland, well-meaning effort crumbles when compared to the livelier (and incidentally smarter) youth pictures of the Eighties, just as the fumbling plot line and clumsy hero pale in the light of Mike Nichol's seminal, razor-sharp Graduate. Perhaps Carter needs a posse of equally stymied contemporaries like the young men in Muccino's The Last Kiss to make this interesting. A Land of Fumbling Young Men might at least have room for more jokes. The film's only moments come in the interactions between Brody and Ryan, but they're only moments of possibility, not achievement. Why does Carter Webb run into a tree while jogging? Why does he get knocked down by Lucy's footballer boyfriend? Only to give him something to do. But he isn't going anywhere -- except back to Hollywood. This is not a terrible movie; it's just a feeble one.

Waste of time??

[WheresMyJimHalpert · 7/10 · 20 April 2007]

I had been looking forward to this movie for weeks. Every time I saw a trailer or ad, I'd become really happy looking at it, and anticipating the film. Adam Brody is relatively new to being on film, not just in "The OC" capacity, and I throughly enjoyed him as Carter Webb. However, I thought that ITLOW lacked in what it mainly advertised, the plot of Brody and Stewart's character was a main lead in the ads, but I was unhappy to find that their scenes were very minimal and basically had little to the plot. Webb seemed to be the lost soul looking for guidance, which he clearly found with Meg Ryan's character. I love Meg Ryan films, but this was probably the first time I found myself pitying her character, and I saw her as almost weak and unfortunate.

This movie did have its high points, I loved seeing the interacting between Webb and the younger Hardwicke girls on their "date," and some other moments between Carter and his grandmother.

Yet, was totally let down after watching Lucy and Carter's "relationship develop." I suppose that this movie wasn't totally supposed to be about the relationships between Carter and Sarah, and Carter and Lucy, but more about the growth of the mother/daughter relationship, as I came to learn later.

I thought the hype for this movie was overrated, and I was actually let down by some of it, but I do see that Adam Brody has a lot to offer in the future, and I can see him doing great projects now that he seen more in the movie capacity.

In The Land of Women, the Man is King and Fool

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 11 November 2013]

The main character is a guy named Carter, a writer of soft porn who lives in California. He is a good listener, so people reveal things about themselves to him. Because he knows that "life is messy", he is not judgmental. He goes to Michigan to live with his grandmother for a while.

His grandmother is a quirky/confused woman who may be senile and who has an obsession with the possibility of her own impending death.

Across the street lives a family named the Hardwickes. Carter is drawn into the drama of their lives. The mother, Sarah, is not happy in her marriage. Her relationship with her teenage daughter suffers from the usual poor communication/generational issues.

The teenage daughter, Lucy, besides dealing with her family issues, is not very self-defined, like many teenagers. She sees a guy who may be her boyfriend.

The younger daughter, Paige, is the precocious tween who hides her immaturity with her verbosity and intelligence.

Carter negotiates the minefield of the Hardwickes' individual issues and their feelings for each other. In the process, he learns about himself. The story contains some tears, but the overall tone of the film is light.

In the Land of Women reminds us of some basic truths: You are lucky to live, so live your life (and no one else's). You are lucky to love another. Art awakens you to real living.

Jonathan Kasdan--the writer and director--is the son of Lawrence Kasdan. This film is not a copy of his father's style, but it did remind me of the superior Lawrence Kasdan film, Grand Canyon. I think father would be proud.

the other

[Kirpianuscus · 22 May 2017]

refuge after break up. new universe. and different forms of love. lessons of life. and the change. the basic virtue of film is to remind the old fashion romantic comedies. and it is not a small thing. because the humor and performances and romanticism are at the right place. sure, not at the perfect place. but the war between woman and man, the evolution of emotions, the dialogues and the feel to meet, again, after a long time, familiar situations, are the good point for this film who represents the fine definition of the discover of the other.

In the land of feelings...

[jpschapira · 7/10 · 30 June 2008]

"It's a big world out there; it's messy, chaotic and it's never what you'd expect", Carter (Adam Brody) tells Lucy (Kristen Stewart) in a crucial moment of "In the land of women". Writer/director Jon Kasdan's first film is a fresh take on what I like to call 'turning points', and it can be described with the phrase quoted above, except for the chaotic part.

It would be fair to reassure the unexpected part, because the film was definitely (and is, if you care watching the trailer) incorrectly publicized, making the viewer believe something that's clearly not there. There's a big chance that teenager fans of Adam Brody (Seth Cohen, from the series "The O.C.") end up disappointed by the movie, which contains a little girl that's precocious in her way of seeing life, a girl who doesn't know what she wants and a mother who's dealing with a big issue.

When Carter comes into the life of these women, he's also going through a difficult personal moment; he's just broken up with his girlfriend and has to get over her. A writer of soft porn movie screenplays (how's that for original?), Carter decides to visit his grandmother (a hilarious Olympia Dukakis) and, while he takes care of her, probably figure out what to do with his life and maybe write what he always wanted to and never could. And there he meets Lucy and her mother Sarah (Meg Ryan in top form), and every 'turning point' gets mixed up.

What goes on between Carter and the 'women' of the title may adjust to the "messy" part of the beginning: a sort of triangle will start taking shape, but gladly this is not your everyday triangle of love and discussions. It's a triangle of mutual enrichment, where every character learns at least something from the other.

Probably if you fully analyze the situations they're going through, only one of them is logically preoccupying, but the fact is that none of these characters in a position where giving up is an option. Kasdan tries, with a human and perceptive script, to present solutions and hope to these situations. With a peaceful camera, he puts quiet conversations above everything else and that's the key of his recommendable movie's success. That doesn't mean that the rest doesn't help though.

There's something about "In the land of women" that's questionable but also gratifying and is that these 'turning points', while not so defining and irremediable, are presented as the ultimate moments of life; as the most important decisions these characters need to take. The moving score by Stephen Trask; Adam Brody's charismatic portrayal, still attached to the 'Cohen Factor'; and the perfect performance by Kristen Stewart, with all the expressions and insecurities of an adolescent, make some scenes and conversations more crucial than they may actually be.

You pay attention to those conversations, and to a couple of movie references, and to those moments when we're expecting a character to say something. Here, Kasdan evades all the common places and the clichés and those phrases we're always waiting to hear. That always has to be something good.

It's an okay movie

[tbsdude951 · 6/10 · 15 December 2007]

The movie is worth watching at least to watch Adam Brody in his first real movie role. While the plot was good and believable at parts, I just didn't get into it as much as I thought I would. Maybe it was because I expected Brody to be as witty as he is in The OC. Or perhaps it was because the plot didn't completely immerse me. The previous poster stated that this was the first movie they had seen with real emotion and if that's the case, I'm sorry for their lack of good movies. You want real human emotion? Watch Closer with Jude Law. THAT'S real human emotion. In The Land of Women is worth watching, but it's not a great date movie and I wish I would have rented it first.

Skinny women mess with the guy across the street.

[randomj · 6/10 · 29 April 2007]

Meg Ryan and Kristen Stewart are stick thin and bored, so they decide to mess with the guy across the street to distract them from the ennui generated by clichéd suburban problems and the depression engendered by their obvious bulimia.

I actually liked this movie a bit, it was funny and sometimes insightful, but seriously folks, should the widest part of a woman's body be her hair? And when did Adam Brody become thinner than Twiggy at the vomitorium? I kept thinking all of these people must have just returned from being stranded in the Andes after a plane crash. If anybody had stopped emoting wildly for 5 seconds and accidentally turned sideways to the camera the DP would have lost them completely in the glare of all the blue gel lenses he was using to indicate the dreamy unreality of the neighborhood. Really, TIm Curry had more curves hanging from that RKO tower than any of the female leads here.

Olympia Dukakis was brilliant as a woman looking forward to dying in the final scenes and Makenzie Vega was enjoyable as the spunky pre-teen with a dirty mind.

Too post-modern

[jasonhill22 · 6/10 · 21 April 2007]

Just saw the movie about and hour ago, and was disappointed. With the outstanding cast and decent premise, this should have been a stellar film in the vein of Say Anything meets the Last Kiss, but instead was a disjointed and shallow examination of modern suburban life. Step one, breakup crisis, step two, new location and new people (also going through relationship turmoil), step three, common issues to discuss providing attraction and intimacy. Need I go on? Individual performances were the only thing worth seeing this film for. Adam Brody tries too hard to pull a Zach Braff in this one, but his portrayal of his character was honest, and I think the audience came away feeling some kinship with him. Meg Ryan, almost always good in whatever role she takes, did a nice job of playing the trapped suburban housewife with the cheating husband and somewhat angst ridden older daughter. Kristen Stewart reprises her standard role of said angst ridden-misunderstood- feeling-unloved teen. It would be nice to see her in an action movie, or historical drama sometime, as I think that she needs to grow out of the roles that she's been put in as of late. So much potential, so little a box that she's confined too... but I don't know, she chose the film not me so kudos to her for doing what she does. The youngest daughter just doesn't look right for the character she plays... way too precocious for what seemed to be a 10 year old, though I think her character was supposed to be around 12. Olympia Dukakis was phenomenally one dimensional as the dying grandmother, and really added nothing but a reason for Brody's character to even be in Michigan. If she has been more humorous, say like Shirley MacLaine in Rumor Has it, I think she would have stolen the film, but the writers had her as a drugged up geriatric on her last leg. The teen who played Stewart's love interest at the end was good in his small role... would have been better if we hadn't only seen him in tiny scenes. Anyhow, I was disappointed, as this was a movie I really had wanted to see. I was hoping for something more fluid and with a clear message, but this film fell short of my expectations.

Completely misled...

[Tracy_xx · 9/10 · 21 April 2007]

This film is getting a 9 based soley on the completely misleading promotion.

I went into this expecting a love story between Carter Webb (Adam Brody) and Lucy Hardwicke (Kristen Stewart). I was expecting a dramatic age-gap romance with an ending about his having to go back to Los Angeles.

What I got was a totally confusing love hexagon that ended up not being about love at all.

Carter just got dumped. So he decides to go to Michigan to live with his grandmother (who is by far the best and most interesting character) and ends up becoming really close to the women across the street.

While it was moving, touching, and all that good stuff, I left the theater with one thought in my mind. "What the hell just happened?" It was fantastic. I would highly recommend it. However, I would not recommend expecting what I did. Don't go into this hoping that the trailers and poster (which show a lovely romance between Carter and Lucy) ring true to the film. That is not at all what the story is about. It would make a great film, in my opinion, and I still wish it had taken that direction, but sadly it did not. While still fantastic, you should expect a film about real people (with many flaws and weaknesses that humans have, like the inability to to stand up for themselves) not a movie like "She's All That" where the two young, good-looking people fall in love with an epic romance.

That is not this film. Go see it. But see it to see a great study on characters, not story.

Ironically what sticks out most are the dramatic instances that have nothing to do with romance.

[rb9589 · 7/10 · 14 October 2008]

Directed and written by Jon Kasden, The Land Before Time -- excuse me, got my movies confused -- In the Land of Women stars Adam Brody as Carter Webb, a softcore-porn writer who, after an emotional break-up with his model girlfriend Sofia(Elena Anaya), decides to move in with his grandmother (Olypia Dukakis), an aging woman who thinks she's dying. While taking care of her, and pondering his life's work and his love for Sofia, Carter meets the neighbors living across the street, the Hardwickes. He starts walking with Sarah Hardwicke (Meg Ryan), a mother of two who we know has breast cancer, and finally he falls for her, and her for him. But all is not well in the situation, as Carter has also befriended Sarah's daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart), and Lucy, being in a state of confusion over her interest in boys, falls for Carter too. It's up to Carter to figure out his own feelings.

Adam Brody really seems like a likable guy in this film. I've never seen his other work, but here, he brings a talkative, people-person personality to his character. It's not unbelievable that two women would fall for him at once, not because of his looks but because of how In the Land... portrays Carter as the guy who has all the answers. Carter feels like a sage, someone who knows the ins and outs of relationships and has the experiences of life. While it could be probable for him to give advice on love to Lucy, it seems a bit strange that Carter could be a mentor to Sarah, who knows from experience what it's like to fall in and out of love. Consequently, Carter does more of the teaching, rather than Sarah, who one would expect to be giving the advice to Carter as he reminisces on his love for Sofia.However, Sarah's predicament holds the plot together - her problems are what keep the film moving along, because if she did not have breast cancer, we would be left with one tedious film about a boy finding love in the wrong places. It was inevitable that Carter would fall for Sarah, and Lucy would fall for Carter - if the plot only consisted of this, the audience would have tuned out well before the conclusion. But to pit the whole Hardwicke family against Sarah's breast cancer tugs at the heartstrings, leaving the audience wondering if she'll make it out okay.

The plot does seem to meander, but the conflicts between Carter v. Lucy v. Sarah add enough drama to make the film interesting. Conclusions to the film are pretty quick, and there's just enough of a lead-up to make them seem likely. For instance, a guy who has a crush on Lucy is minimally stuck into the movie, where eventually she realizes her own love for him. It happens fast and is miniscule, but there's enough glue to make it stick.

The best part of In the Land... is Carter's grandmother, who always complains about dying. She's humorous because of her morbidity, and at the end we get a twinge of guilt at laughing at her seemingly unimportant moaning, because we find that she really did feel the end coming after all.

In the Land of Women does mostly the same things as most other romantic com-drams, and basically on par with them too. Ironically what sticks out most are the dramatic instances that have nothing to do with romance, and the lack of a substantial conclusion at the film's finale that shows that love cannot be forced, and is easily confused. This is what Carter really came seeking when he went to his grandmother's house - he wanted to find if his confusion of love was shared, and in the end, he finds solace in that everyone is lost until love is found. He answers his own questions, because he has all the answers, even if he doesn't realize it.

Misleading Title and Terrible Film

[curseofgonzo · 3/10 · 13 June 2009]

This film can't decide whether it is a serious film dealing with issues such as cancer and the affect on that on a family or a quirky film dipping its toes in the lives of normal folks like you and me. The film is a mess. Part of the time it is quirky film e.g. soft-core porn writing is the occupation of the main character, his grandmother is insane in a comedic way but not really funny in any sense, 10 year old girl who is very sophisticated and does yoga etc.

Then there is the serious side that involves cancer, dealing with cancer, marital trouble and generally the issues of all the characters love lives. The overall coldness of this family's lives is the main theme of this side of the film. There is also the matter of Brody's Carter who has just been broken up with and has moved away from LA to get perspective. How original. And guess what, he's writing a book about his experiences.

As you can see these are clearly two different movies. There are too many ideas going on here and far too many bad ideas at that. I can't imagine how this is in any way real or true. Adam Brody's part as Carter is to pass between these two ideas and act as a buffer between the funny and the deeply serious. This doesn't work. The whole plot is flawed. Every action taken by the main character is ridiculous.

The montage love scenes are old, the party fight scene is again completely ludicrous as you would see if you watched this. The production design is terrible, the camera work is equally bad but you can't stray far from the main problem; a completely absurd script. It's a horror to watch and I can't imagine how anyone could see this film as satisfying in any way or form. Adam Brody was thought of for this no doubt because of his fast talking and comic abilities which would have suited if this was just an offbeat drama. But no, they tried to make it son much more.

This is just a case of a film that tried to cover all the bases. Every part of this film has been done before and has been done in a more superior fashion in other movies. In the end this film is a comedy/love story/wacky drama/issue driven film. It is just meaningless and bizarre and it should not have been made.

To summarise it is basically a waste of an hour and a half of a life, whatever fee you paid to watch it and the time after watching this muck that you'll spend angry at yourself for getting it in the first place.

Fresh, original and surprising!

[BSeverin-1 · 9/10 · 20 April 2007]

This movie was billed as a romantic comedy, but it's really a drama, and it was so much better than I expected! Redemptive and thought-provoking, this movie raises questions about if women and men can be friends without romantic undertones, and includes themes of forgiveness and living life fully. Meg Ryan is always real and lovable, and Adam Brody is a great counterpart. It's so great to see him as a leading man. I loved him in The O.C., but hopefully the bulk of his career is ahead of him. Scenes between him and the grandmother were hilarious. Very well directed. Definitely one to see with your friends and discuss over coffee afterwards--don't take your parents.

A for Effort but somehow isn't as powerful and moving as it could have been

[Robert_duder · 7/10 · 3 November 2007]

In The Land of Women has a powerful and poignant story about love and growing up and in some ways could be considered a 'coming of age' story for a twenty something guy finding his way. The film is entertaining enough, even has some cute moments to chuckle at but it never really finds it's wings and takes off and there is a few reasons for that. The script first of all and the film making style somehow seems so subtle and just crawls to each scene. It's not that it bores you or anything but it doesn't keep things moving at a proper pace. The other problem I think was in the casting. Given a more talented and ranged leading man the film could have made a real impact because there is some decent performances but they lack a certain passion behind them. The entire film is missing this element of passion that you really want it to have but never really gets a full on dose of it which is unfortunate. The film is just cute...it's just okay and it could have been really something. For Young newcomer Jon Kasdan who wrote and directed the film it is indeed a worth attempt and he gets an "A" for effort and coming close and still managing to make a very watchable film that is hard to hate but also doesn't really give you anything to shout about either.

I have no problem with Adam Brody. I was a huge O.C. fan and would love to see him get a decent film career but his range as an actor is incredible limited and will likely always play the sarcastic, snide, slightly withdrawn type that he played in The O.C. and then rebirths with a tiny bit of edge for this film. He has a certain charm when it comes to playing the role of the confused, looking for purpose young man who goes to visit his grandmother but I think he lacked a lot of the passion missing from this film. Up and comer Kristen Stewart who did a terrific job headlining The Messengers (See my review) plays the equally confused coming of age teenage girl Lucy Hardwicke. I predict big things for Ms. Stewart if she can find the right roles and she certainly has the edge necessary and probably gives one of the most passionate roles in this film but still misses the mark a little. The rather strange romance between her and Brody is actually a high point of the film and they have decent chemistry together and mirror each others feelings of their lives. Meg Ryan turns in a very decent performance as Sarah Hardwicke, and definitely gets the most emotion out of her character as you could and should expect. I know Ryan has a decent range of ability and I just felt like she was holding back even in this role. But still she was a great addition to the cast and was probably the best performance of the film.

The film certainly has it's moments. I mean the title says it all...Brody's character literally finds himself trying to find his way in the world, and heal from his break up surrounded by completely different women of different generations. His Grandmother, his young teenage next door neighbor and her mother, plus his worried mother and everyone else he comes into contact with. For all the romantic moments in the film you never really get that fuzzy warm feeling because I don't think any of the relationships that blossom or start in the film are particularly romantic. I think the film is much more of a satirical look at romance and growing up and finding your way. Still it's entertaining enough, definitely worth seeing, and won't bore you by any means. I only wish there was more to say about it because it seemed to have such potential that never really gets there but that can be said for many films of great possibilities. 7/10

Garbage

[Anirishmanstale · 1/10 · 4 February 2009]

"Land of Women" is the quintessential example of how so many of todays movies can be full of plastic characters, inane dialogue, and hopelessly under developed plots and still manage to get some poor slob to think its a good movie. The main character is a kid that runs off to live with his grandmother and for some reason, morphs immediately into the old man on the mountain as far as teaching life's secrets and dispensing endless wisdom. Mind you this stupid punk doesn't utter even a line that qualifies as indiscernible common sense in the entire movie. Never mind anything that is going to make a women swoon with his charm and charisma. Except of course the family of broads that live across the street from his grandmother that collectively seem to have never managed a life 'till the "wise" young punk moves to the neighborhood. The empty, plastic subplots and dialogue in this movie are far too numerous to give attention to in individual detail. Suffice it to say that the hapless viewer is supposed to accept that a righteous babe like Meg Ryan, who doesn't seem to have any job and has nothing better to do all day than to stroll the neighborhood with her dog, has never up until the stupid kids arrival met up with anyone that wants to listen to her, walk with her, or grow close to her and gain enough of her confidence to have her confessing about her husbands infidelity. She seems to have no friends or family that are available to listen to her whining, so she latches on to the "duh" looking punk that wanders the front lawn next door. Allow me to confess that I find it inconceivable that a looker like Meg Ryan with so much time on her hands and exposure seems to have up until the kids arrival, never been able to locate a sympathetic ear. (Trust me, if Meg Ryan was to be in my neighborhood all the time alone and walking a dog, she would find herself being infested with sympathetic ears.) She seems to hang on his every word and thought as if he is the true coming in her life of some living bastion of all things wise and wonderful. Yet when she gets around to confessing to him that her husband is having an affair after a mere couple of outings together, his response is " I have no concept of what that feels like". Would anyone out there reading this honestly surmise that someone you just confessed something heartfelt and hurtful to, who's first response is that they have no idea of what it is you are feeling, come to conclude that that person is someone who's opinion you will eagerly seek out and listen to at a very difficult time in your life? Why should he have any concept of what she is feeling. He is in reality shallow, immature, and stupid. But for some reason none of the women in this family seem to grasp the obvious. When the kid later on tells Meg Ryan that he thinks her husband must be out of his mind to be cheating on her, (although he doesn't even really know her at all and is just turned on by this hot milf who seems to love for some reason being around him) she tilts her head all puppy dog style and basks in the glow of the compliment. Like Hello??, you don't have a clue that this kid just has the hots for you and has never even met your husband that he has just judged. Oh and there is more. Meg Ryan talks her underage daughter, (who she is distant from, but the reason why is never explained), into going on an outing with the kid so he can get to know some of her friends and all, and is then shocked and concerned when she up and falls for him. Did anyone else see that scene coming? Obviously Mom of the year Meg Ryan didn't. Then of course there is the youngest daughter, the so called "genius" that seems to have no problem getting a handle on things like quantum physics, but has never heard of cancer. She of course falls in love with the dork and asks him to marry her when she grows up. Although among the trilogy of dumb broads in this family, it is the little one he has the least amount of interaction with. But of course it all makes sense in this ridiculous movie for he is the embodiment of all things grand and gregarious. This entire movie is in fact all things stupid, and that of garbage.

This movie hopelessly fails at even the bare minimum standards of a chick flick. If the chick in your life ever suggests it, do yourself a favor. Go screaming into the night.....

Pretty Good, As A Flashback

[AngelOfRock · 7/10 · 4 May 2007]

My friend and I went to go see this together, expecting a cute girl-y movie with a gorgeous guy romantic lead. Wow, were we wrong (okay, not about the gorgeous guy).

The movie was actually very good, now that I look back on it. The actors and actresses were all amazing! Adam's character was wonderful, and the way that he played off of Olympia was great. Kristen and Meg's mother-daughter relationship was very convincing. Also, the stories within the story was great, so if you want a movie that you kind of have to focus on and pay attention to fully to understand, go for it! I just wish that the ending was different. Actually, I wish that a few parts were different. In the end though, it was a "coming of age" romantic dramatic comedy. Put a murder in there with a song and dance number, subtitles, and a house blowing up, and I think we've covered all the genres! It's a cute romantic-dramatic-serious-comedy that teen girls should go to with their friends; or their moms, I guess. It's worth it, but then again, I have free movie passes, and on that night, I'd had been very disappointed if we had to pay for it since it didn't fulfill our expectations.

Hope this helped!

an okay movie

[MatthewLong23 · 7/10 · 29 July 2010]

This is a movie that should have been much better but is okay nonetheless. It's about a man named Carter who has just broken up with his famous girlfriend. He finds out from his mother that, his grandmother needs help at home so he volunteers to stay with her hoping this will help him in finding the inspiration to write a screenplay about his high school. We find out he's not thrilled with his present job, which is to write soft core porn. While helping his grandmother he becomes friends with the family across the street. He develops a friendship with the mother ( Meg Ryan) and soon the daughter ( Kirsten Stewart) and somehow finds himself a big part of their lives. The characters in this film are not fully developed which is a shame such as why the daughter hates her mother so much and why the mom feels lonely all the time. A lot of characters come in and out of this film very quickly such as the younger daughter who seems to really like Carter but is not heard from after hanging out with him. Also the fact that Carter was kissing a high school girl was very inappropriate. We later find out he's 26 and she is probably 16-17 years old. The fact that the mom is still willing to talk to Carter after that is very stupid. The story with the mom having cancer was not necessary and brought nothing to the story. Exploring the marriage should have been the main focus as the husband seems to have gone missing 30 minutes into the story.

Just Brody and Dukakis

[otroale · 6/10 · 26 September 2007]

Let set the record straight. It's not that this movie sucks, because it does not. It's just disappointing because it could have been really good. In fact, the first half hour IS good. Giving that the storyline it's kind of a cliché- guy in his twenties gets dump for beautiful girl, and heartbroken decides to travel only to find the truth about himself- they managed to tell it interestingly enough. That is, it went really well mainly thanks to Adam Brody, an actor who plays the same character once and again -gilmore girls, OC, Mr and Ms Smith- but always adding some tiny specifics to the persona as to make it look refreshing. It's also a merit to his record being able to play a sad face when he's hearing Elena Anaya speak in English. The first 5 minutes of him against Olimpia Dukakis are arguably the best moment of the flick. This fantastic Oscar winner plays and elderly and kind of crazy grandma, obsessed, against medical opinion, with the imminence of her death. She is fantastic in this role, and deserved a new nomination -only a Utopia if you see the numbers this movie made worldwide-. The movie keeps in a good track until he meets the neighbors. And then's when the movie starts to fall. First, because of Meg Ryan. His new "Joker-like" face makes her unable to express any kind of feeling other than surprise. And taking into account that she is a cancer patient with a husband who cheats on her and a daughter who hates her, she kind of needs to show some sadness. To bad for her, she could have been a beautiful aging woman, but she preferred to be a clown. From the moments he meets the family across the street ,the movie tries to tell us that he is discovering he was not doing things right with his life but cannot either scape to solve the problems, and that nobody's life is simple. But it fails, not only because meg Ryan fails, but also because some of the problems told are so trivial- mother daughter fight, for example- that you don't really get the metaphor. In fact, you end up thinking, wow,this people would's survive my third world country kind of problems. Anyway, Adam Brody made me laugh, he plays a lovable character, and his relationship with grandma is worth watching, sadly, there's to much of stupid teenage problems and to little of that story. I wouldn't recommend it, but neither would repulse it.

International You Day

[raulfaust · 7/10 · 4 July 2014]

Wow, what a nice little flick! Carter Webb is an unique character that oscillates between being the good boy and the womanizer; either way, he's likable in both situations, and male spectator will surely feel identified with him, one time or another. He deals with different kind of females. An hypochondriac grandmother, an immature teenager and a problematic woman. The grandma is indeed funny, and I loudly laughed in the "I hadn't eaten anything in three weeks" scene; it exposed with sincerity how old people act when they feel lonely and helpless. Even if the portrayal of such character can have a serious connotation, I couldn't help laughing at her manners. The directing and editing are sometimes weird, and I noticed an overuse of editing during conversations, but that doesn't spoil the (many) qualities of the film. The story, for example, is EXTREMELY original, and so are the conversations and the problems that characters deal with. Adam Brody has an amazing performance, and I'm really surprised that I haven't ever seen him before. In some scenes he remembered me of Axl from "The Middle". "In the Land of Women" is, without a doubt, a different movie from anything you've seen, and proves that a low-budget project can be as satisfying (or more) as a Hollywood blockbuster. Give it a try!

Is Hollywood growing up?

[bw11 · 9/10 · 12 August 2008]

Finally, Hollywood is getting closer to emotional maturity and creativity. In the Land of Women was a delightful surprise. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys delving into the underlying thread of emotion connecting our relationships. As we meander through the sometimes messy connections between characters -- I don't remember any Hollywood sterilization of the situations. We continue, sometimes blind, just like the characters in the story -- and we get an excellent play-out of what ordinary "good" people do to strive to survive and better themselves.

We need more movies like this one -- a "chick-flick" that is more. It makes us think and it makes us feel!

Sentimental

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 19 October 2013]

Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is a softcore porn writer. His famous girlfriend dumps him. He takes a break and goes to Detroit to check on his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). He befriends the women next door. The mom (Meg Ryan) is suffering from cancer and a cheating husband. The daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart) is angry at her mom for everything.

Young Jon Kasdan is trying to inject poignancy and charm into this manufactured premise. Do people actually write porn? It sounds like a made up thing that LA writers create. And the whole relationship with mother and daughter sounds like another porn plot. Is that the connection? All the dialog have this fake idealism.

The thing is I love Meg Ryan's performance when she's with Adam Brody. Kristen Stewart is once again her grumpy profound teen. She rambles through all that emo dialog. The dialog can really go from wonky childishness to fresh insightfulness.

A jumbled mess with no laughs, insight or drama

[petevieira · 2/10 · 12 November 2007]

SPOILERS GALORE AHEAD!

The cast is very good, the technical aspects of the film are fine, and the directing seems solid (not that the material is challenging), but the screenplay is a train wreck. Too many plots, no laughs, no drama, just an jumble of ideas. Any one of them might have made a good film, with a second as one sub-plot. But in this movie, you get 'em all: Slightly too-old guy falls for slightly too-young girl; Young guy falls for hot-ish mom instead of daughter; Woman deals with cancer; Woman gets closer to teenage daughter; Woman deals with cheating husband; Young guy moves in with ailing, unappreciated grandmother, learns life lessons; Teenage girl realizes she likes geeky sweet kid, not arrogant jock douchebag. ALL of these plots are crammed into the movie, along with a precocious-kid cliché, and none really pay off. Carter is a soft-core porn writer, but this does not influence the plot in any way, nor does it inform us of his character--there's nothing "porn" about him. His relationship with his ailing grandmother has no resonance and is played for laughs(and fails), and Carter learns nothing from her. Sarah must battle cancer knowing her husband is having an affair. She believes it's a secret, but daughter Lucy also knows. But husband Nelson is never called out and never confesses, and Lucy and Mom never learn that they both know of the affair. I kept waiting for the movie to focus--it never did.

The soundtrack is a problem too. Great songs, but a loud pop soundtrack does not belong in this film.

Grace "In the Land of Women"

[jon.h.ochiai · 9/10 · 22 April 2007]

Carter (Adam Brody) says to teenager Lucy (Kristen Stewart), "It's a big world out there. It's messy… and you can't let fear turn you into an ass----." Carter reminds Lucy that she should cut her Mom a break, because she may be dying. Even at a young age, she needs to appreciate that the world does not revolve around her, and knock it off. This is the context of Writer and Director Jonathan Kasdan's (son of Lawrence Kasdan) "In the Land of Women". This is Kasdan's feature film debut as director. The material is not entirely original, we have seen similar before. However, Kasdan's storytelling is deeply personal, strikingly poignant, and bittersweet. Much like his Dad, he demonstrates an ease in composing relationships. He has also assembled a wonderful cast. Adam Brody (of "The O.C.") is amazing in the lead. Kristen Stewart ("Speak") is maturing as a powerful young star. Meg Ryan, who plays Lucy's suffering mother Sarah Hardwicke, is awesome giving one of her best performances in years. I think what "In the Land of Women" does so eloquently, is illustrate the pain of those things missing in life, and our blind spots created by our self-absorption. The indelible image of Meg Ryan's Sarah standing alone in the down pouring rain, crying in isolation is stark, moving, and so very human. More than anything, I think Kasdan touchingly pleads for compassion in our relationships that is decent and forgiving.

Carter Webb (Brody) is a soft core erotica writer, who is dating beautiful movie star Sofia (gorgeous Elena Anaya). As the movie opens, Sofia breaks up with Carter. Devastated Carter sees his mom Agnes (funny and good JoBeth Williams). Carter volunteers to take care of his ailing grandmother Phyllis (the great Olympia Dukakis) in Michigan, giving him an excuse to get out of Los Angeles for a while. Carter befriends Sarah Hardwicke (Ryan) and her daughter Lucy (Stewart), who lives across the street from his grandmother. Sarah is dealing with possible personal tragedy—she has discovered a lump in her breast. Lucy harbors an unusual disdain for her Mom, even for a teenager. Sarah tells Carter that she tries to stay out of her way, as not to "embarrass her". Sarah's husband Nelson (Clark Gregg) is having an affair with another woman, and both Sarah and Lucy are aware. Lucy proclaims that she does not ever want to be like her Mom. The under current in Lucy's judgment is that Mom is weak. Sad and strong Sarah eloquently says to Carter, "I don't want to look back on my life and wonder what part belonged to me…" Carter forms a relationship with both Sarah and Lucy—the twist being at Sarah's encouragement. Kasdan brilliantly orchestrates this relation tie, never awkward, becoming only something that evolves. After all, "In the Land of Women" is about women, and life.

Adam Brody is amazing as Carter. His low key presence, and insightful smarts work "In the Land of Women". His Carter's growth from arrogant heartbroken soul to being a "great listener", who cares about others, is moving. And Brody does this with a light and humorous touch. Kristen Stewart is a star. Stewart resonates in Lucy a bold spirit and smart edge. She beautifully captures Lucy's angst and vulnerability as a teenager defining her self. Makenzie Vega makes an impressive turn as Lucy's younger sister Paige, the precocious yoga practicing preteen. Vega has a touching scene with Mom Sarah in the ice cream shop. Olympia Dukakis is brilliantly subtle as Grandmother Phyllis. For the most part she is comic relief. However, her character provides a wake up call to Carter: "One day I am going to be dead, and you will still be alive…" Meg Ryan is awesome as Sarah. I have always been a fan. She is older now, still beautiful and displaying great power as an actor. Ryan movingly imposes a quiet strength of character in Sarah, who endures a loveless marriage, daughter who hates her, and life and death. Sarah by nature has to always keep it together, so when she asks Carter for help it is out of tremendous courage. As she stands inconsolable in the rain, her suffering is heartbreaking. Meg Ryan's humanity gives "In the Land of Women" grace and poignancy.

John Kasdan's "In the Land of Women" is bittersweet and moving. Adam Brody, Meg Ryan, and Kristen Stewart are great in Kasdan's tale of compassion and forgiveness. Kasdan accomplishes this all with resounding heart and humor.

A nice movie . Beautiful .. But the ending sucked

[razzakahmed · 7/10 · 11 September 2021]

Salaam everyone . Okay this is like a very beautifully romantic movie . My rating is above 7 obviously. A few things were obviously inappropriate along with it's ending, in which whose ending up with who is weirdly awkward almost like to just finish the movie . Another part is about the smokes which should definitely be avoided to show in movies cause my grandfather died cause of lung cancer and my dad is in heart diseases, and both of them ended up like this cause of smoking, it's like the second largest killer in the world. As many people inspire and emulate whatever gets portrayed on-screen so it should be avoided cause it's harmful. Coming back to the story . A mother of a girl goes through mastectomy cause of cancer and her husband is having an affair with someone else so she desires another man . But the problem is both mother and daughter end up falling in love with the same guy . So the guy is unable to compromise between them and hence forth has to leave due to their family issues .. and his old girlfriend also wants him back. Even in polygamous marriages, like a guy having more than one wife it isn't like this legally to have mother and daughter at the same time as wives not that naturally this kinda thing isn't possible, it is. But I still feel there can be a better ending to this movie rather than the guy and the daughter ending up with bartenders somewhere. But hey , the title says In the Land of Women 😂 no offense to womankind .

You've Got to be Kidding -- What a Waste of Talent

[gmihran · 1/10 · 25 January 2008]

There are so many things wrong with this movie and screenplay, that I don't know where to start. We heard such negative reviews from friends that we just had to see for ourselves. Given the strong stable of actors, it just couldn't be that bad ... or could it? So let me start with the positive.

The Good:

1) Actors - Great talent overall. Special kudos to young Makenzie Vega, who is on her way to a wonderful career. She stole every scene she was in. And Meg Ryan is always a great performer - but what happened to her lips? She looks like she got stung by a bee and had a bad reaction.

The Bad and the Ugly:

1) Editing - So poorly done, that it was hard to follow the flow of the story. It seemed like every ten minutes, the characters were making reference to a dialog or event that was left on the cutting room floor.

2) Storyline - Don't try to rationalize how believable this one is, it's not close to reality. Without giving anything away, the story is so painfully predictable that we were all cheering for at least one surprise or plot twist, but those never came. And the ending was so absurd - straight out of a bad TV movie.

3) Relationships - The characters' interaction with each other is so contrived and superficial, that it was hard to empathize with any one in this film. A good story draws you in to feel the emotions of the actors but none of us watching, from the teenagers to the adults, cared about any of the characters. And most of them were so neurotic and depressed, you just wanted to slap them across the face.

If you watch this for the actors, and pay no attention to the story, then you'll have a good time. And pay particular note to young actress Makenzie Vega, she's one to watch.

Lacking.

[wassupmjm · 6/10 · 9 December 2013]

I am giving this film a six out of ten purely because it has Adam Brody and Kristen Stewart in it who are two of my life heroes.

Other than that this film offers very little. It is really rather lacking in terms of character development... Carter and Sarah go on a couple of dog walks together and all of a sudden he's writing her love letters. All the while, Carter is making out with Lucy, even though he fancies her Mum.

I maintain that Adam and Kristen are fantastic actors/resses but their skills have sadly been let down by a rather wet script that lacks any sort of substance and fails to draw the viewer in to a position where he actually gives a damn about what happens.