| | | "If You Love Someone, Shouldn't You Tell Them?"
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Aspect Ratio 1.33:1, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
"It's messy," Carter Webb says about the world. "And it's chaotic, and it's never ever the thing you'd expect." Carter should know. Heartbroken over a smashed love affair and weary of a dismal job, he flees Los Angeles to care for his ailing grandmother in a leafy Michigan suburb - and finds what he doesn't expect: mother-and-daughter neighbors, both beautiful, and both facing crises of life, love and confidence.Adam Brody ("The O.C.'s breakout star" according to Time) makes his starring film debut as Carter, co-starring with Kristen Stewart, Meg Ryan and Olympia Dukakis in a tender film celebrating wit, romance, letting go, holding on and falling hard. What more could a young man hope to find In the Land of Women?
"Fresh, funny and perceptive." Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Superb! One of those rare movies you hate to see end." Jeffrey Lyons, Reel Talk/NBC-TV
"...a clever comedy...Ryan gives a touching performance..." Ken Fox, TV Guide
"Solid acting, especially from the women, and a few good Colin Farrell jokes make this familiar tale better than it probably should be." Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian
"...[an] affecting movie." Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
Editor's Note
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.
| Features | Audio: English, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: Spanish | | Includes Both Widescreen & Full Screen Versions Of The Film! | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 1/8/2008 |
| Running Time: 97 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 1000017591 | | UPC: 00012569736764 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen/Standard 2.40:1/1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Reel.com 8 of 10
Though Jonathan Kasdan's dramedy In the Land of Women is hardly what you'd call original, it still manages to be an amiable and often touching first effort...it's always encouraging to see a studio take a chance on this kind of intimate, slice-of-life material...The movie is also a strong showcase for its appealing star, the O.C.'s Adam Brody. After this, Brody (who also had a memorable cameo last year as Rob Lowe's glib assistant in Thank You For Smoking) is sure to become the go-to guy for those soulful, 20-something lead parts previously reserved for Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Zach Braff...Overall, Kasdan has drawn strong performances from his cast, including Brody, Stewart, Dukakis, and especially Meg Ryan, who not only looks fetching...but is wonderfully sympathetic as a good woman going through the hardest time of her life. Makenzie Vega is winning as Sarah's wise younger daughter Paige, even if, as written, she's sometimes annoyingly precocious. Clark Gregg, as Sarah's philandering husband and JoBeth Williams, as Carter's mom, are mostly missing in action. Kasdan could use a few more screenwriting lessons from his Oscar-nominated father, but he's off to a decent start. - Gary Goldstein
ReelViews 8 of 10
In the Land of Women is enjoyable for a movie in which pretty much nothing happens. The things that occur during the course of Jonathan (son of Lawrence) Kasdan's debut feature are all subtle and character-based. This is the sort of motion picture one might assume was made in France if everyone wasn't speaking perfect English and setting was somewhere more exotic than Michigan. In the Land of Women is comprised of a number of nice little scenes that, while they don't combine to form something momentous, are each effective in their own low-key manner...Jonathan Kasdan becomes the fourth member of the talented family to have a movie to his name, joining father Lawrence, brother Jake, and uncle Mark. With In the Land of Women, Kasdan has elected to start out small. By not overreaching, he has produced an effective character-based drama that should have strong appeal to women. The movie is being used as counterprogramming to thrillers and horror movies, and should find its niche (if not in theaters then on DVD). It's the kind of production that's pleasant to watch because it allows viewers to spend some time with believable characters who face "regular" problems, but do so without becoming boring or overly familiar. In the Land of Women is a reasonable choice if you're looking for something less frenetic than the usual multiplex fare. - James Berardinelli
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