Available at Amazon.com
Director
Jon Kasdan
Cast
Elena Anaya ……. Sofia Buñuel
Adam Brody ……. Carter Webb
Rob Reinis ……. Avi Rosenberg
JoBeth Williams ……. Agnes Webb
Makenzie Vega ……. Paige Hardwicke
Kristen Stewart ……. Lucy Hardwicke
Meg Ryan ……. Sarah Hardwicke
The Movie
It’s always interesting to see films that are meant to be counter-programming to the big blockbuster summer season of Hollywood movies. For a film like In the Land of Women, trying to find an audience would be hard no matter what time of the year it’s released not because it’s a film that really doesn’t have a built in audience ready to accept it.
Women stars Adam Brody as soft core porn writer Carter Webb who, on a lark, decides to visit his grandma (Olympia Dukakis) in the Midwest. Needing some time to work on a script, and some fresh air to boot, Carter runs straight into Midwestern shenanigans with the Hardwicke family. Sarah (Meg Ryan) has just been diagnosed with cancer while her daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart) struggles with being a teenager. Carter has just been dumped by his girlfriend Sofia (Elena Anaya) and awkwardly fits in with the new family across the street from him. And if the film comes off as being a “chick flick” from the trailer alone, that’d be a correct assumption.
That’s part of the appeal of In the Land of Women, at least initially. This is the sort of film that tries to be geared towards women for large stretches of time. The problem is that at its heart it really isn’t a chick flick at all; it’s a solid romantic drama, as opposed to a clichéd romantic comedy, and kind of a screwball comedy at the same time. There are plenty of offbeat shenanigans happening to go along with plenty of good romantic drama, but the film tries to be too much to too many, resulting in a lack of focus. It’s trying to go for a variety of appeals and the film shifts focus several times in terms of its tone.
It’s a shame, really, because the film is shockingly good. It’s really tight-scripted and first time director Jon Kasdan sets a terrific pace, even if his tone is a bit off. He crafts a couple of really well-written characters into a plot that’s driven by their development. The film may shift in tone but the characters remain strong and deep; by the film’s ending we’ve seen them grow and change into the people they need to be, not necessarily the people we want them to be.
A/V QUALITY CONTROL
Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format in a widescreen presentation, the film has a terrific transfer. The film has a really good soundtrack which comes through terrifically, as well as the film’s visual presentation is superb.
The Extras
None.
