the leading man is my tpye

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Carter Webb (Adam Brody), a young, attractive writer of softcore porn films, is at a restaurant one day when his equally young and famous girlfriend Sofia (Elena Anaya) reveals that she no long wants to see him, sending his life into an utter tailspin. Hopeless and out of options, Carter goes to spend time at his grandmother Phyllis's (Olympia Dukakis) home in Michigan, in a move which he feels will help him escape the deadline pressures of Los Angeles and ostensibly irreparable heartbreak. Across the street from Phyllis are three women: a single mother named Sarah (Meg Ryan), who is potentially suffering from breast cancer, and her two college-age daughters Paige and Lucy (Makenzie Vega and Kristen Stewart).Carter's plan for a quiet, restful vacation becomes disrupted when he realizes that as long as he's in Michigan, his stay will be dominated by females, particularly Lucy, whom he takes a liking to early on in his stay. Lucy is a lanky and slightly rebellious young woman, looking for her way in life and sees Carter as an older, more intelligent soul than herself. Despite this, Carter winds up connecting with the whole family, discovering Sarah's potentially cancerous breast lump and realizing that suffering is often the precursor to finding comfort in life and one's situation.This is the story of In the Land of Women, the first cinematic effort by Jon Kasdan, who would later go on to write and direct the incredibly natural and almost poetic romantic comedy The First Time. This effort, however, exhibits the tired old tropes of the genre, featuring a mopey, half-baked lead and an equally sulky, undeveloped love interest who, against all odds, find one another whilst experiencing personal tragedies. I could totally buy this story if Kasdan gave the characters the least bit of credible development, heart, and dialog. Instead, Carter, Lucy, Phyllis, and the majority of the characters here are shells of what they should be, and wit very few meaningful or dialog-driven scenes taking place, it's hard to find any kind of substance in these characters whatsoever.Films like this are hard to make work on a level that doesn't seem either self-serving for the respective writer/director or just privileged people bitching and moaning. Not long ago, I watched a film called Language of a Broken Heart, which, amidst a great deal of clichés and character generalizations, did one thing tremendously and that was detail a character who felt he had to be loved by someone or in a relationship in order to be successful; he couldn't function on his own and needed somebody by his side to encourage, love, and hold him. That is usually one detail that finds a way to disappear from the modern romantic comedy but Language of a Broken Heart dared focus on that element when few others did. Furthermore, a film like Wish I Was Here, Zach Braff's sophomore effort following his directorial debut Garden State (a film this finds itself similar to in why it doesn't work), which was predicated on smarmy humor, sarcastic and quick-witted dialog, and a surprisingly emotional climax.In the Land of Women detaches itself from all things character and emotional, leaving a film that tries to get by with lackluster, empty characters and unremarkable performances. The actors on display here, from Brody to the proved-capable Stewart, are starved for material that services them better than a screenplay as empty as this one. Kasdan seems to have a serious fascination with random encounters and almost divine occurrences, and these ideas have made for fantastic films. However, especially with this genre, which often has its writer/director walking on eggshells throughout the entire project, the bare basics for storytelling isn't going to cut it.Starring: Adam Brody, Meg Ryan, Kristen Stewart, Makenzie Vega, Olympia Dukakis, and Elena Anaya. Directed by: Jon Kasdan.

This movie is one of the most underrated films if IMDb's got to give it a 6.6. They obviously read the misleading synopsis and saw the misleading poster, expected some amount of explicitness and got disappointed. This film is more than about getting over somebody. It's about how you should treat people, how people should treat you. Carter, the lead character moves in with his grandmother. Being a writer he has a thirst for new stories and characters with depth. He perceives things differently from others and doesn't care to express his opinion if asked for one. The film has such subtle beauty in it, and such full characters that you actually live as someone else for a while. I aspire to make a film like this one someday. Hats off to Jon Kasdan for writing such lovely people. I'd give it a 9/10.

The main character is a guy named Carter, a writer of soft porn who lives in California. He is a good listener, so people reveal things about themselves to him. Because he knows that "life is messy", he is not judgmental. He goes to Michigan to live with his grandmother for a while.His grandmother is a quirky/confused woman who may be senile and who has an obsession with the possibility of her own impending death.Across the street lives a family named the Hardwickes. Carter is drawn into the drama of their lives. The mother, Sarah, is not happy in her marriage. Her relationship with her teenage daughter suffers from the usual poor communication/generational issues. The teenage daughter, Lucy, besides dealing with her family issues, is not very self-defined, like many teenagers. She sees a guy who may be her boyfriend.The younger daughter, Paige, is the precocious tween who hides her immaturity with her verbosity and intelligence.Carter negotiates the minefield of the Hardwickes' individual issues and their feelings for each other. In the process, he learns about himself. The story contains some tears, but the overall tone of the film is light. In the Land of Women reminds us of some basic truths: You are lucky to live, so live your life (and no one else's). You are lucky to love another. Art awakens you to real living. Jonathan Kasdan--the writer and director--is the son of Lawrence Kasdan. This film is not a copy of his father's style, but it did remind me of the superior Lawrence Kasdan film, Grand Canyon. I think father would be proud.

This is a movie that should have been much better but is okay nonetheless. It's about a man named Carter who has just broken up with his famous girlfriend. He finds out from his mother that, his grandmother needs help at home so he volunteers to stay with her hoping this will help him in finding the inspiration to write a screenplay about his high school. We find out he's not thrilled with his present job, which is to write soft core porn. While helping his grandmother he becomes friends with the family across the street. He develops a friendship with the mother ( Meg Ryan) and soon the daughter ( Kirsten Stewart) and somehow finds himself a big part of their lives. The characters in this film are not fully developed which is a shame such as why the daughter hates her mother so much and why the mom feels lonely all the time. A lot of characters come in and out of this film very quickly such as the younger daughter who seems to really like Carter but is not heard from after hanging out with him. Also the fact that Carter was kissing a high school girl was very inappropriate. We later find out he's 26 and she is probably 16-17 years old. The fact that the mom is still willing to talk to Carter after that is very stupid. The story with the mom having cancer was not necessary and brought nothing to the story. Exploring the marriage should have been the main focus as the husband seems to have gone missing 30 minutes into the story.