In need of a fresh start, he impulsively decides to cut himself off from the pursuit of romance by traveling to Michigan to take care of his cranky, aging grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). Perhaps there he can finally focus on his long-delayed novel about his high-school years. Needless to say, the book never gets written, and Carter’s vow of amorous renunciation is seriously challenged by the mother and daughter who live across the street. Mom Sarah (Meg Ryan) is a vibrant but unhappy housewife facing the threat of breast cancer; her beautiful teenage daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart) is grappling with the usual adolescent terrors of emerging sexuality. Both mother and daughter turn to Carter for friendship and solace, and in giving it, he begins to find a cure for his own confused, love-crushed heart.
Writer-director Kasdan, 27, is the second of Lawrence (“The Big Chill,” “Body Heat”) Kasdan’s sons to release a movie this month. (His older brother, Jake, made the satirical “The TV Set.”) His sweet-natured, seriocomic debut is surprisingly free of self-conscious movie references, hipster attitude or the cynicism one often gets from young filmmakers who grew up in a Hollywood cocoon. “In the Land of Women” is the kind of small, personal tale that once would have made for a slight but promising first novel. Here, supported by a sterling cast and a technical crew that includes his father’s longtime editor, Carol Littleton, Kasdan has made a winning if overly pat first feature notable for its keen ear, its preference for character over plot and its refreshing modesty.
The lanky and likable Brody, “The O.C."’s young heartthrob, gives a charming, no-sweat performance that never requires us to take Carter’s crisis too seriously. Ryan, as a woman facing deeper terrors, strikes deeper chords, and Stewart nicely captures the insecurities of a teenager who hasn’t yet grown into her beauty. (For what it’s worth, the combined body fat of these three leads is approximately zero percent.) Dukakis’s half-bonkers grandma is amusing, but she hails less from the land of women than the land of sitcom shtik. Here, forgivably, Kasdan reveals his youth.
