女人领地 In the Land of Women review by GARY GOLDSTEIN 英文影评

女人领地,In the Land of Women

 

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 tough to say if the younger son of veteran filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan would've gotten this small, personal picture off the ground without the clout of his heavyweight dad (or, for that matter, a nudge from older director-brother Jake). But whatever made Warner Independent pony up here, 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.
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As Carter Webb, a heartbroken writer who makes a rash exit from L.A. after being dumped by his actress-model girlfriend (Elena Anaya), Brody brings intelligence, warmth, and wry charm to his conflicted character. The fact that Carter flees to Michigan to tend his ailing, batty grandma (scene-stealer Olympia Dukakis) at this exact time may be overly convenient, but it does make him seem nobler than your average Hollywood wannabe.

 

It takes burrowing away in upscale Ann Arbor for Carter—an earnest fellow who pens soft-core porn flicks but has a novel in his heart—to forget his past and create a new present. This will include not only wrangling with grandma Phyllis, who's convinced she's hovering at death's door, but, more importantly, befriending Sarah (Meg Ryan), the comely housewife across the street, and Lucy (Kristen Stewart), Sarah's equally beautiful but tense teenage daughter. Nothing too earth-shattering happens during Carter's stay on the idyllic street. He takes walks with the wistful Sarah and her trusty bulldog, helps Lucy navigate romantic and parental issues, makes sure Phyllis doesn't answer the door half-naked, and struggles to write a meaningful sentence. The characters also talk—a lot. Sometimes their chatter is honest and poignant, but it's not always as deep as Kasdan likely intended. It's safe to say the more life experience you've had, the less profound the film may seem.

 

In addition, Carter, Sarah, and Lucy's problems feel a bit manufactured, mostly derived from other movies—American Beauty, Terms of Endearment, The Graduate, Garden State—not to mention a catalog of touchy-feely TV shows. Cancer, ual trauma, infidelity, teen angst, May-September flirtation, career remorse, and lost love, are just some of the topics explored here with varying success. The film's likeability, however, along with its many well-observed moments, helps keep you on its side. These plusses also smooth over several story holes and loose ends that may be the result of some overly ambitious editing. (One thing that was reportedly excised was a scene between Brody and Ryan. Though keeping it in may have created a few marketing challenges—check out who's kissing who in the movie poster—it might've also juiced things up.)

 

Overall, Kasdan has drawn strong performances from his cast, including Brody, Stewart, Dukakis, and especially Meg Ryan, who not only looks fetching (maybe too much so as Sarah turns ill), 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.

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