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In The Land Of Women on DVD (2007)

In The Land Of Women cover art
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Average rating: 62%
1328620131414
3.0
from 709 members
 
Starring: Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Stewart, Meg Ryan, Adam Brody
Director: Jon Kasdan
Studio: WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time: 94 mins
Certificate: 12
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Languages: English
Hearing-impaired: English
Released: 25/02/2008
Also Available on:  Also Available on: DIGITAL

Brief synopsis of In The Land Of Women

IN THE LAND OF WOMEN is a surprisingly sombre yet funny coming-of-age tale from director Jon 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 light-hearted 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 mould.

Related

Critics Reviews

Cliff Doerksen, Time Out

This stridently tender dramedy by the elder son of director Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) stars Brody (The O.C.) as... Read more on www.timeout.com

Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 4 starsMisleading promotion leads to nice surprise

Harv from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 07/03/2008

This film has completely misleading promotion. I was expecting a tender love story between Carter Webb (Adam Brody) and Lucy Hardwicke (Kristen Stewart). The way the Trailer and posters have presented the film I was expecting a traditional age-gap romance.

However it's more about how the different women he meets during his stay with his Grandmother effect his life. It's far from a traditional love story. It's really a drama, and it was so much better than I expected. This film raises questions about if women and men can be friends without romantic undertones, and includes themes of forgiveness and living life fully.

Story starts with Carter being dumped by his famous girlfriend. So he decides to go to Michigan to live with his grandmother (this character seems a little miscast) and ends up becoming really close to the both the mother and daughter who live across the street.

It was moving, touching and I would highly recommend it. However do not rent the film expecting what I did. Don't hope for a traditional romance between Carter and Lucy. That is not what the story is about. It's a film about real people with many flaws and weaknesses.

  7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 4 starsThis little known film is embracingly enioyable

Edward Frost from Essex, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 10/03/2008

Released in the US in April 2007, 'In the Land of Women' was neither a critical or commercial success. This lead to there being no cinematic release here in the UK, for reasons which are beyond me. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

It is very well cast, with a post-OC Adam Brody doing what he demonstrated so well in that shortlived show- deftly neurotic but sweet humour.

Then there is a very heartfelt performance from Meg Ryan, who goes through a personal tragedy during the narrative. These two main protagonists display such convincing chemistry on screen that it makes the film a more believable and touching experience.

I loved that these two characters were so able to connect with one another, two world-weary souls reaching out to each other, culminating in a fond relationship. This friendship is the reason why this film works on all they levels it should.

I am baffled as to why this has been so overlooked and given poor reviews. It really is a very well done film which deserves all the fans it can and should get.

I enjoyed the understated humour and the storyline and felt i was able to connect with the two leads.

There are a few flaws. Some of the characters are underwritten, leaving a confusion as to what their purpose is, and the story could have done with a bit more orginality to make it really stand out. The film also deserves to be at least 20 minutes longer than it is so to flesh out its interesting characters in a more sufficient way.

All in all, this benefits from having two strong leading stars (from different sides of the acting spectrum) and a plausible narrative which is both witty and wise.

This may not be the most groundbreaking 90 minutes of your time, but it is time well spent. This comes highly recommended.

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 4 starsIn The Land Of Women

A customer from Cambridge , 21/05/2008

The storyline of the film is fairly vague, it concentrates more on the characters and their relationships and traits. Each character goes on a journey of self discovery and by the end of the film they have all grown. Meg Ryan and Adam Brody are great, as is the rest of the cast. The look of the film is very distinctive and effective, i.e. lighting etc. Themes are appropriate and moving. A good sunday evening film.

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 starsChick Flick

A customer from Wadebridge , 02/06/2008

Not bad if you're aware this is a CHICK FLICK in capital letters (and I hate that term so you can imagine how strongly I feel about this label). You can tell because the male lead is good looking and has all the answers to his friends problems yet, gosh, can't find the right woman for himself.

It's ok til about halfway through when a decent mid-life crisis movie descends into cliche'd life-lessons & shmaltz and the ending is just plain patronizing. It's forgettable guff then, but I'll acknowledge you could do far worse.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Most Recent Reviews

Rated - 4 starsMisleading promotion leads to nice surprise

Harv from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 07/03/2008

This film has completely misleading promotion. I was expecting a tender love story between Carter Webb (Adam Brody) and Lucy Hardwicke (Kristen Stewart). The way the Trailer and posters have presented the film I was expecting a traditional age-gap romance.

However it's more about how the different women he meets during his stay with his Grandmother effect his life. It's far from a traditional love story. It's really a drama, and it was so much better than I expected. This film raises questions about if women and men can be friends without romantic undertones, and includes themes of forgiveness and living life fully.

Story starts with Carter being dumped by his famous girlfriend. So he decides to go to Michigan to live with his grandmother (this character seems a little miscast) and ends up becoming really close to the both the mother and daughter who live across the street.

It was moving, touching and I would highly recommend it. However do not rent the film expecting what I did. Don't hope for a traditional romance between Carter and Lucy. That is not what the story is about. It's a film about real people with many flaws and weaknesses.

  7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 starsChick Flick

A customer from Wadebridge , 02/06/2008

Not bad if you're aware this is a CHICK FLICK in capital letters (and I hate that term so you can imagine how strongly I feel about this label). You can tell because the male lead is good looking and has all the answers to his friends problems yet, gosh, can't find the right woman for himself.

It's ok til about halfway through when a decent mid-life crisis movie descends into cliche'd life-lessons & shmaltz and the ending is just plain patronizing. It's forgettable guff then, but I'll acknowledge you could do far worse.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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