Review of In the Land of Women (2007) by Chads. — 22 Apr 2007

If "In the Land of the Women" wanted to put more distance between itself and Zach Braff's "Garden State", Carter Webb(Adam Brody) had to get happy in order for us to see if his relationships with Sarah(Meg Ryan) and Lucy(Kristen Stewart) would alter any.

Braff's character had an everyman quality, but Carter is different; he's a chick magnet, a sad chick magnet, whose forces of hotness even when set at hangdog, manages to pull a mother and daughter irrevocably towards his lips.

When Carter was dating Sofia(Elena Anaya), his hot Latina model-girlfriend, would he have deemed these Wolverine State gals as being below his station? Let's not forget that Carter Webb was born and bred in Los Angeles(his mother, played by JoBeth Williams seems a little snobby).

Nevertheless, "In the Land of the Women" withstands the negation of a litmus test for Carter's actual persona, and the "Terms of Endearment"-like trick of reconciling a feuding mother and daughter, to earn the title of "Garden State"-lite replete with one inspired moment(hint: John Hughes' ouevre is mentioned and there's a payoff to the film's name-dropping).