Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

What a waste of 2 hours. Don't know how this is rated so high.

Normally might have dodged a movie with a title like this, fearing it either a chick or feminist flick. Pleasingly this proved neither. As a debut feature directorial and writing effort it's quite a good entry. Joh Kasdan has created several interesting situations peopled by an above average cross section of characters. Many of whom seem like they might owe more than a passing nod to some family life experiences. There are times it seems that at any given moment it could all fall apart but then manages to continue maintaining a strong sense of integrity. Thankfully this isn't just another grotty entry into those trashy youth oriented shows like Porky's or American Pie. The fact that Olympia Dukakis (they don't make names like that anymore) featured high on the cast made me even more curious to see this one.Director Joh may have received some strong guidance from his famous dad (and in this case, exec producer) or else he's a natural. He certainly gets strong assistance from his excellent cast. Adam Brody as Carter, a soft porn script writer who's now looking to redeem many of his worthless life choices, turns in an extraordinarily mature performance and maintains the quality throughout. Meg Ryan manages to be his equal in a difficult role as a neighboring mother with family problems whose just been stricken with a tragic health situation. Kristen Stewart convinces as her self absorbed daughter. The casting in this feature is spot-on. Olympia as Grandma is marvelous. Stephen Trask contributes a thoughtful score, although he has to overcome yet another (now boring) soundtrack filled with pop chart toppers added to pad out several scenes - thus making up the obligatory promo CD. Director of Photography Paul Cameron must have been disappointed with the treatment his lovely film imagery received at the hands of an over-the-top digital colorist - turning what should have been his 'natural' images into near 'fluro' fantasy shots. Why do they do this?. Bring back some natural color grading PLEASE!.Some younger viewers may not be mature enough to appreciate the thoughtful themes within this work and anyone who has been drawn to it by the misleading promo advertising material (IE: the trailer and posters) will be disappointed. Worth staying with for the genuine rewards that add up to a satisfying ending.

It's the writing that makes this movie.The Executive Producer wrote it, and directed it; so I can understand how that happened. The person with the ultimate authority to wreck this script was the man who wrote it: so it didn't get mangled.Typically, a Hollywood movie has only one idea in it. This one has seven (well, I counted seven, maybe I missed some). It almost seems as if the central premise is "Everything is the opposite of what it seems". Almost.One needs to pay attention to get the juice out of this movie. I kept finding I needed to go back and replay scenes because my mind wandered (it does that a lot, but in most movies, that doesn't matter because I know the ending shortly after the opening titles fade).This movie has seven endings, and none of them occur at the end of the film.Don't sit there reading this, go see for yourself what I am talking about. I don't think you will be sorry. Unless you have a learning disability (it's a line from the film: watch for it...) Enjoy!

In the Land of Women its a great little movie.I say little because it doesn't deal with anything too serious or profound, its just about human relationships,family dynamics and people in general, which happens to be my favorite kind of movie.Adam Brody plays Carter,a young soft-core porn writer who after a break-up with a famous actress uses his grandmother poor health state as an excuse to get away from L.A. and everything he knows in hopes of healing his broken heart and find some peace.He moves to suburban Detroit to take care of her and in the process he meets the Hardwicke family who lives across the street from his grandmother's house. First he bonds with the mother(Meg Ryan), and then with the daughter(Kristin Stewart) making an impact in in their lives and in the end he changes his own life as well.This charming independent movie is about ordinary people and the everyday life and some of the struggles and pains people go trough.Adam Brody was great although he always seems to be playing his character,Seth, from The O.C. I didn't mind it because it worked but I wonder if he's capable of doing something completely different,same thing goes to Kristin Stewart,she did a terrific job but she played once again an insecure and somewhat damaged character. Meg Ryan was great as well.Overall, a sweet movie and a very promising debut by director Jonathan Kasdan.7/10