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Review #455 of 365
Movie Review of In the Land of Women (2007) [PG-13] 97 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Continental 6, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 28 April 2007
Time: 4:35 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Now Available: (click here)
Directed by: Jon Kasdan
Written by: Jon Kasdan ("Freaks and Geeks")
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Meg Ryan (Against the Ropes) • Adam Brody (Thank You for Smoking) • Kristen Stewart (The Messengers) • Olympia Dukakis (Away from Her) • Makenzie Vega (Just My Luck) • Elena Anaya (Van Helsing) • JoBeth Williams ("Criminal Minds")
Soundtrack: Download now from 
— or — order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
See photos from the premiere
In the Land of Women! What a perfect title for this film. I apologize to the XX chromosome-endowed members of our species in advance, but this review has to be clouded by my Y chromosome. Probably the first question to ask is, "Is this strictly a chick flick?" Answer: "Gosh no!" Unless you a guy who doesn't think either Kristen Stewart or Meg Ryan is hot. Oh, and how dare I forget the stunning Elena Anaya (gulp) the obvious heiress to the Penélope Cruz throne. And not to be ageist on top sexist, while she's made up to look 20 years older than she is, and quite off her rocker in the role, Olympia Dukakis is the perfect grandma of grandmas! There! How's that for the Y chromosome blaring through? Probably the better question is "Will guys enjoy the film setting aside the physical attractions?" Well, there's no easy answer to that one. Quickly, I found it a lot more humorous than did my mother who escorted me to the film. Both of us agreed that the ending was lacking finality. But, I think we both agreed that there were some good parts and some uneven parts, and some sense that writer / director Jon Kasdan really wasn't sure where he was going with this whole thing most of the time.
Carter Webb (Adam Brody) endures a brutal break up with the adorable Sofia (Elena Anaya). So distraught is the soft core porn screen writer that he ups and abandons his mother (JoBeth Williams) and goes to Michigan to stay with his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) who claims on the phone that she's dying. Across the street from grandma live the Hardwickes: Sarah (Meg Ryan), Lucy (Kristen Stewart), Paige (Makenzie Vega), and what's his name the cheating husband. The film then becomes a drawn out segue to Adam Brody making out with both Kristen Stewart and Meg Ryan in the same movie. Sorry if that spoils the film for some people.
Carter Webb (Adam Brody) endures a brutal break up with the adorable Sofia (Elena Anaya). So distraught is the soft core porn screen writer that he ups and abandons his mother (JoBeth Williams) and goes to Michigan to stay with his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) who claims on the phone that she's dying. Across the street from grandma live the Hardwickes: Sarah (Meg Ryan), Lucy (Kristen Stewart), Paige (Makenzie Vega), and what's his name the cheating husband. The film then becomes a drawn out segue to Adam Brody making out with both Kristen Stewart and Meg Ryan in the same movie. Sorry if that spoils the film for some people.
"… the cast did a phenomenal job…better resolution was needed in the end… "
Sorry if the notion of a guy putting the moves on mother and daughter freaks out others. Sorry if it encourages some people to see the film for all the wrong reasons. Apologies aside, this is the kernel of the story, the germ of narrative from which the whole plot unfurls. It seems that everyone is in love with Carter Webb. My experience has been that guys with last names for first names hold some special magnetic charm over women which they totally don't deserve, but just to be on the safe side, if I ever have a son, I'm naming him Connery, Costner, Cruise, Kutcher, or Brody. That way, in the land of women, I know he'll already have a leg up on the competition. So, it starts out with Carter meeting the Hardwickes, and then Sarah kind of meeting with and flirting with him a bit. She's married, but not happily, to a guy she's positive is having an affair. He's young, broken-hearted, and available. Sarah tries to suppress her feelings after hearing of the lovely letters Carter wrote Sofia only to be told that she needs some "espace" from him. He cries. Yikes, Carter! He's so perfectly sensitive, no wonder Sarah cannot keep her mind off him—so much so that she wraps up Fig Newtons® on a plate with some Clingwrap® and heads over to the house to present him with a 'welcome to the neighborhood' gift. But, she tries to bury her feelings by matching him up with her high school-aged daughter forcing her to agree to take Carter to the movies at the mall. Eventually, he does take both the daughters to the movies, and they have so much fun that by the car ride home, little Paige is asking Carter to marry her. Ah, but Carter is surnamed well too, for he is quickly entangled in a web of deceit and awkward attractions as the other two Hardwicke women attempt to reel him in convincing themselves that this vulnerable young man who dutifully takes such care of his ornery, dying grandmother is Prince Charming in disguise.
Well, I've spoiled enough of the plot to say more, and usually I try not to do that. It's hard, though, not to when addressing this particular film though because without that info, it's difficult to understand what's not to like about this film. The cast is perfect. The plot has promise and is quite funny in spots. The film definitely takes a look at the lives of women and their needs from a unique vantage point, that of a guy who's sheepishly eager to help out some lost women. In fact, that might have been inspiration for an even better title, "Lost in the Land of Women". In the end, I was kind of lost as to what the point was. Nobody gets fulfilled in the end. Lots more tragedy happens—no I didn't spoil those—and the end just sort of leaves things without much closure—which I'm known for not thinking is a good thing. Meanwhile, much has to be said about the acting and the characters. See, that's the thing about this film that is most curious. The characters are far more compelling and intriguing than most great films even. And the actors who inhabit them for this film did stellar jobs. Let's think about this for a moment.
Well, I've spoiled enough of the plot to say more, and usually I try not to do that. It's hard, though, not to when addressing this particular film though because without that info, it's difficult to understand what's not to like about this film. The cast is perfect. The plot has promise and is quite funny in spots. The film definitely takes a look at the lives of women and their needs from a unique vantage point, that of a guy who's sheepishly eager to help out some lost women. In fact, that might have been inspiration for an even better title, "Lost in the Land of Women". In the end, I was kind of lost as to what the point was. Nobody gets fulfilled in the end. Lots more tragedy happens—no I didn't spoil those—and the end just sort of leaves things without much closure—which I'm known for not thinking is a good thing. Meanwhile, much has to be said about the acting and the characters. See, that's the thing about this film that is most curious. The characters are far more compelling and intriguing than most great films even. And the actors who inhabit them for this film did stellar jobs. Let's think about this for a moment.
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Kristen Stewart, pictured above, plays Lucy Hardwicke from Jon Kasdan's In the Land of Women opposite Meg Ryan and Adam Brody(Click Still Photo to Purchase)
As for Ms Dukakis, just having seen her in Away from Her where the supposedly 70+ year-old actress looked like she was in her late 50s to this character where make-up was used to make her look like she was in her late 90s has to be one of the most versatile, hilarious, and endearing actresses of her true age category. I absolutely adored her in this role from start to finish. My grandma sweetheart is by no means as crusty as Carter's grandma, but she has the same vim, vigor, vitality, brilliant sense of humor, and obvious adoration for her grandson. Not to mention, Makenzie Vega has developed into a fine little adolescent actress herself. All in all, the cast did a phenomenal job with this film. Maybe I've been too hard on it in some ways. I did spend a lot of time laughing and crying during it. Still, I feel better resolution was needed in the end to solidify the purpose or point of the film.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring In the Land of Women (2007)
Cast Members
Meg Ryan
• Adam Brody • Kristen StewartOlympia Dukakis
• Makenzie Vega • Elena AnayaJoBeth Williams
Writer / Director
Jonathan Kasdan
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In the Land of Women (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Writer / Director Jon Kasdan ventures into the world of quirky relationships in his film In the Land of Women starring Adam Brody and Meg Ryan. Ryan is back in a big way with this touching performance of a women dealing with just about every problem a middle-aged mother might ever need to face in order to make her wonder what was wrong with running away with Fabio to live in the South Pacific? The cast and the characters they inhabit do an exceptional job: Adam Brody sheds his "O.C." skin for a quirky life of a soft core porn writer, and Olympia Dukakis romps it up as his 'off her rocker' grandma. Hilarious and gut wrenching at times, the plot however ends up taking the characters on an endless roller coaster to nowhere. Enjoy it for the cast, but be prepared for a disappointing ending.
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