IN THE LAND OF WOMEN
RYAN: We have been “In the Land of Women” and survived.
CAROLINE: Not only did we survive, we flourished! I loved this movie!
RYAN: I loved it too, but you have to admit it’s got one of the most straight-male-audience-alienating titles ever.
CAROLINE: It’s slightly alienating to be sure. And I’m not sure the title works perfectly with the plot. But I was very into this quirky, pseudo coming-of-age story.
RYAN: Everything about it was terrif. I experienced a plethora of feelings throughout the film. I love Kristen Stewart and she’s great in this, though she does need to eat a sandwich or seven.
CAROLINE: I really like her too, but she’s so thin that I’m concerned about her physical well-being.
RYAN: But everyone’s so thin! Even Meg Ryan had a tank top scene where I was like, “Oh my Meg Ryan!” She’s so uber skinny.
CAROLINE: For those of you who may remember our Trailer Tuesdays conversation this week about Meg’s plastic surgery looking better, I’d like to recant our comments. In this movie, it looks like she’s had so much Botox in the furrow betwixt her brows that her eyebrows have actually started to recede. There’s an unnaturally wide space between her brows and it’s very odd-looking.
RYAN: True. But she looks much better now than she did in 2004. Though when she had crying scenes in this movie, you could definitely see all the work she’s had done.
CAROLINE: I’ve always loved the timbre of her voice. There’s something very dulcet and innocent-sounding about it. And I must admit, Meg made me tear up a little in this movie.
RYAN: She was great, and I’m glad to see her back at work. Adam Brody, I’m surprised to report, was really good. I’ve never liked him, but he was fantastic in this – very authentic.
CAROLINE: I did not watch “The O.C.” so this was my first trip to Adam Brody-land and I found him super cute. A little too skinny for my tastes, but otherwise adorable and very good in this movie. He had great chemistry with all the women in the land of women.
RYAN: Olympia Dukakis pulled out a great performance too.
CAROLINE: She’s crotchety and old in this, and it’s quite funny.
RYAN: This movie has such a near-perfect screenplay and the producers cast it correctly, so it’s a home run.
CAROLINE: I read on IMDB that this movie was originally going to be released under Warner’s independent label, but they decided it was mainstream and good enough to be released under the Warner Bros. banner. And you can tell why, because this movie does have an indie vibe.
RYAN: What’s your bottom line?
CAROLINE: I highly recommend this movie, but maybe it’s just ‘cuz I’m cheesy. It had the perfect combination of romance, drama, comedy and angst, both teen and adult. Adam Brody’s character is going through what John Mayer so eloquently calls a quarter-life crisis, and actually, each generation of characters is having a bit of a crisis. There’s a teen crisis, a quarter-life crisis and then Meg Ryan with the adult crisis, and they were all very well-portrayed.
RYAN: That’s enough talking from you. But you articulated it very well. It’s a fantastic movie, and I recommend it for sure. And watch for the girl who plays Kristen Stewart’s little sister – she’s high-larious!