Although there are individual scenes that are beautifully conceived and scripted, the work as a whole doesn't quite gel.
In the Land of Women (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:112
Fresh:48
Rotten:64
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: While pleasantly acted, In the Land of Women is a dramatically stilted film with underdeveloped characters.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual content, thematic elements and language
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Los Angeles, California, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Theatrical Release
Theatrical Release:Apr 20, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $11,001,271
Synopsis: IN THE LAND OF WOMEN is a surprisingly somber yet funny coming-of-age tale from director Jonathan Kasdan, and stars Adam Brody in a role not too different from his beloved Seth Cohen on the... IN THE LAND OF WOMEN is a surprisingly somber yet funny coming-of-age tale from director Jonathan Kasdan, and stars Adam Brody in a role not too different from his beloved Seth Cohen on the night-time teen soap THE O.C. Brody, playing a character his own age, breezily inhabits Carter, a loveable but somewhat directionless screenwriter (if you count soft-core porn films) who is dumped by his beautiful but shallow starlet girlfriend Sofia at the start of the film. In crisis mode, he packs up and heads to the Detroit suburb where his senile grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) lives, in an attempt to help her out and get some perspective. While desperately trying to make sense of his grandmother's incoherent ramblings, Carter slaves away at a long-coming screenplay and creates confusing friendships with the mother (Meg Ryan) and daughter (Kristen Stewart) next door. While the film sometimes seems to be grasping for something it can't quite find, it is entertaining throughout, especially for fans of Brody. Thanks to some clever dialogue, quirky characters, and Brody's oddball line delivery, IN THE LAND OF WOMEN manages to get more than a few laughs. That said, the film also deals with serious issues like sickness and death in a lighthearted way. Ryan and Stewart both add depth to what could be one-dimensional characters, and while Brody's performance doesn't feel like much of a stretch, it's nice to see the actor moving towards some slightly more adult material. Kasdan packs the film to the brim with indie pop songs, providing a hip soundtrack for a story that feels contemporary by refusing to fit the traditional romantic-comedy mold. [More]
Starring: Adam Brody, Meg Ryan, Kristen Stewart, Makenzie Vega
Starring: Adam Brody, Meg Ryan, Kristen Stewart, Makenzie Vega, Clark Gregg, Elena Anaya, Olympia Dukakis, Dustin Milligan
Director: Jon Kasdan
Director: Jon Kasdan
Screenwriter: Jon Kasdan
Producer: Steve Golin, David Kanter, Barbara Kelly
Composer: Stephen Trask
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for In the Land of Women
A decent film that doesn't occupy a single neat genre category, and often doesn't seem able to decide who it's trying to speak to.
As Phyllis, Dukakis is every bit as effervescent as she was in her Oscar-winning supporting role in "Moonstruck" (1987).
It can't decide on a tone, so it jars the viewer from one moment to another.
It feels like Kasdan has piled one event on top of another on top of another, as opposed to building a believable story arc.
The movie is shot well -- especially for a first-timer. But after a while the semi-realized, semi-familiar story line weighs it down, as do the loads and loads of talk.
This first film by writer/director Jonathan Kasdan reveals him to have a good ear for dialogue and the foibles of growing into adulthood. With the inclusion of greater originality in his plotlines, he should grow into a director to watch.
Is it too early to call for a moratorium on earnest comedy-dramas about overly sensitive, hyper-verbal young men working through emotional crises by having deep, meaningful conversations with manic pixie dream-girls?
No one is conniving or desperate enough for the movie to become a decent melodrama. And the conversations are too stale to culminate in interesting romance.
Considering the setup features three attractive, lovelorn characters, Kasdan takes a fairly high road. But his script only feigns insight.
Kasdan's script mines familiar ground without finding gems. That's too bad, because it's blessed with honest, unflinching performances from three leads.
This comedy drama is capably acted and undeniably touching in spots, although less than two weeks after seeing it, I can remember having been undeniably touched but not much else.
Lip-locking lapses aside, Carter's relationships with Sarah and with Lucy are rooted in the sharing of ideas and dreams and disappointments and fears.
In the Land of Women doesn't for a moment feel messy and chaotic where it counts.
His ostensible profession is writing soft-core porn, but he really wants to be a serious novelist. If so, the life experiences he gains in this soppy, schematic weepie won't help much.
While it catches something of the romantic zeitgeist of this time, much in the way The Big Chill did in the early '80s, I suspect this won't have the same stamina.
The kind of movie that gives the term 'chick flick' a bad reputation.
Jonathan Kasdan infects them with a smart-ass self-awareness and a grandiose sense of vitality that borders on preciousness. It has that Baby Boomer quality of his father's films without any of the history to back it up.
The "young man's post-traumatic discovery of life's value through quirky people tale" is an obscure genre that's somehow attracted Zach Braff, Cameron Crowe and Jon Kasdan.
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April 28, 2007:
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April 19, 2007:
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