In the Land of Women (PG-13, 2007)

Carter, a Los Angeles writer who pens soft-core porn scripts who has just been dumped by his gorgeous girlfriend (sexily accented Spanish starlet Elena Anaya), decides to recover by visiting his healthy-but-nonetheless-ready-to-die grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) in the Detroit suburbs. Carter strikes up a friendship with his grandmother's neighbor Sarah (Meg Ryan) -- the kind of cardigans-and-cargo-pants-wearing stay-at-home mom whose house looks like a Crate and Barrel catalog – and her daughter, Lucy. As he gets to know Lucy, her steely veneer of teen angst (she paints when she's "freaked out") gives way to a fraught confession of just why she's perpetually angry at her mom. And, naturally, both mother and daughter crush on Carter, lending the film even more teen-opera drama.

To O.C. devotees, Adam Brody will forever be fast-talking, lanky-limbed, high-strung Seth Cohen. Writer-director Jonathan Kasdan (one of Lawrence Kasdan's two showbiz-savvy sons) plays up Brody's inherent Seth-ness in the role of Carter Webb, the kind of sensitive, witty soul to whom women want to bare their soul -- and eventually their hearts.

The predictable plot is the stuff of movies of the week, but thanks to the winning charm of the actors involved, it's emotionally satisfying to watch Carter help these women mend their broken relationships and overcome their self doubt. IN THE LAND OF WOMEN is exactly the kind of well-acted -- albeit formulaic -- "chick flick" that a mother and teen daughter would equally enjoy.