L.A. writer Carter Webb (Adam Brody) decides to move to a Michigan suburb to take care of his ailing grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) after a bad breakup. Next door, he meets mother and daughter Sarah and Lucy (Meg Ryan and Kristen Stewart). They are both going through an important life-changing experience themselves and Carter finds himself newly inspired and healed as he gets to know them and becomes entangled in their situation.

CRITIQUE

In the entertainment industry, people often follow in the footsteps of their parents. As an offspring of a talented writer and filmmaker, Jonathan Kasdan would, at first glance, seem to be ideally suited to film, perhaps especially a dramedy, as this film is. The film, though, needs improvement. In the Land of Women has a vastly imperfect script as its basis and is hard-pressed to overcome that fundamental flaw.

The central problem with the story here seems to be one of quantity. Kasdan seems to have wanted to cover a lot of ground and to cast a humorous light on most of it. Unfortunately, this aim clashes incongruously with the subject matter, which includes senility, extramarital affairs, and cancer. Managing this combination would have been a daunting task to begin with, but there is also too much included that it quickly becomes a mish-mash.

Adam Brody is a high point of the film. His comic instincts are never wrong, and when the character’s mother says, “Women have always been drawn to you Carter,” it’s not that hard to believe. The actor can only do the best with what they’re given and Carter is forced to spend too much time pining for a girl who broke his heart. Meg Ryan and Olympia Dukakis exhibit the commitment of veterans to the moments they get, Dukakis in particular proving a lot of the film’s laughs.

Focusing so much on women is a credit to Kasdan, and I hope he’ll continue this trend in his future work. I also like the final scene’s tone of hope. Kasdan does chose beautiful locations and makes good use of them, while the music throughout is good as well. These building blocks are the positive areas Kasdan can start from when he crafts his next film, hopefully exhibiting even more potential as a filmmaker and writer. In the Land of Women has appealing performances and brief moments of humor but also a story that is flawed overall.

THE VIDEO

Warner Bros. presents both widescreen and full screen versions on one disc (double-sided). This is nice for households where different people prefer different formats. Both are transferred well, though I prefer widescreen version.

THE AUDIO

Audio formats include The English 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as a Spanish 5.1 language track. There are no other language tracks but there are English, Spanish, and French subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

None are included on the disc.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The story of In the Land of Women is an imperfect foundation that the other aspects of the film, including the appealing performers, can’t quite make the viewer forget. Some viewers may want to rent this film, and there are no special features on this disc to add to the value of buying it.