Emotional 'Women' predictably quirky

Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 20, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Movies

Every time someone in In the Land of Women begins a meaningful conversation - and there are lots of them - a sensitive piano starts playing in the background. This steady musical intrusion made me want to seek a cease-and-desist order against the pianist, or at least against whoever decided to make it seem as if we were reading a book that had been heavily underlined.

Maybe I'm being a little harsh about a relatively small thing, but I don't think so, because every time I began to immerse myself in the world that director Jonathan Kasdan creates, something tended to push me out. Kasdan has made a movie that's not afraid to explore emotional territory, but he does it in ways that seldom catch us off guard. In the Land of Women could be one of the most predictable quirky movies yet.

And, yes, Kasdan is the son of writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, whose work includes The Big Chill and Grand Canyon.

The movie begins when Carter Webb (Adam Brody of The OC) breaks up with his actress girlfriend (Elena Anaya). Carter, who earns his Los Angeles-based living writing soft-core porn, decides to travel to Michigan and move in with his aging and slightly demented grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). He wants to get away from the scene of his love catastrophes and maybe begin that novel he's been planning to write.

Once in Michigan, Carter discovers the women in his suburban neighborhood. He meets a neighbor played by Meg Ryan. In a quasi-Graduate move, Ryan's character seems to be coming on to Carter. Her striking teenage daughter (Kristen Stewart) also has her eye on Carter, although she's simultaneously living a "normal" teen life.

Kasdan, who also wrote the screenplay, allows a fairly large variety of problems to accrue: These include Grandma's dementia, cancer, teen angst, infidelity and all-around sadness. Know that this is the kind of movie in which two characters can be strolling along and one of them blurts out, "My husband's having an affair."

And when a really big moment (as opposed to one that's only marginally big) arrives, you can bet it's going to take place in a driving rain.

There's no faulting the actors. Brody does a nice job, avoiding the worst pitfalls of a role that's full of them. It's not easy playing a decent young man who's trying to do the right things, but Brody pulls it off. Ryan doesn't insist on pressing every cute button in sight. And Stewart brings real credibility to a teenager who's hurting and who we know is going to grow into a commanding young woman.

Attempts at emotional honesty also aren't helped by inclusion of a few stock characters. Of course, Stewart has a precocious younger sister (Makenzie Vega), and surly Grandma (she constantly insists she's dying) seems like a million other cinema grumps.

Although he tries, Kasdan can't hit the emotional grand slam at which he may have been aiming. Now that he has this quasi coming-of-age story out of his system, he may be able to move on to terrain that's just as meaningful and perhaps a little less talky.

Let's hope he leaves that piano behind, as well.

In the Land of Women

An aspiring writer moves in with his grandmother