Il bacio che aspettavo

This film is getting a 9 based soley on the completely misleading promotion.

I went into this expecting a love story between Carter Webb (Adam Brody) and Lucy Hardwicke (Kristen Stewart). I was expecting a dramatic age-gap romance with an ending about his having to go back to Los Angeles.

What I got was a totally confusing love hexagon that ended up not being about love at all.

Carter just got dumped. So he decides to go to Michigan to live with his grandmother (who is by far the best and most interesting character) and ends up becoming really close to the women across the street.

While it was moving, touching, and all that good stuff, I left the theater with one thought in my mind. "What the hell just happened?" It was fantastic. I would highly recommend it. However, I would not recommend expecting what I did. Don't go into this hoping that the trailers and poster (which show a lovely romance between Carter and Lucy) ring true to the film. That is not at all what the story is about. It would make a great film, in my opinion, and I still wish it had taken that direction, but sadly it did not. While still fantastic, you should expect a film about real people (with many flaws and weaknesses that humans have, like the inability to to stand up for themselves) not a movie like "She's All That" where the two young, good-looking people fall in love with an epic romance.

That is not this film. Go see it. But see it to see a great study on characters, not story.

Finally, Hollywood is getting closer to emotional maturity and creativity. In the Land of Women was a delightful surprise. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys delving into the underlying thread of emotion connecting our relationships. As we meander through the sometimes messy connections between characters -- I don't remember any Hollywood sterilization of the situations. We continue, sometimes blind, just like the characters in the story -- and we get an excellent play-out of what ordinary "good" people do to strive to survive and better themselves.

We need more movies like this one -- a "chick-flick" that is more. It makes us think and it makes us feel!

The main character is a guy named Carter, a writer of soft porn who lives in California. He is a good listener, so people reveal things about themselves to him. Because he knows that "life is messy", he is not judgmental. He goes to Michigan to live with his grandmother for a while.

His grandmother is a quirky/confused woman who may be senile and who has an obsession with the possibility of her own impending death.

Across the street lives a family named the Hardwickes. Carter is drawn into the drama of their lives. The mother, Sarah, is not happy in her marriage. Her relationship with her teenage daughter suffers from the usual poor communication/generational issues.

The teenage daughter, Lucy, besides dealing with her family issues, is not very self-defined, like many teenagers. She sees a guy who may be her boyfriend.

The younger daughter, Paige, is the precocious tween who hides her immaturity with her verbosity and intelligence.

Carter negotiates the minefield of the Hardwickes' individual issues and their feelings for each other. In the process, he learns about himself. The story contains some tears, but the overall tone of the film is light.

In the Land of Women reminds us of some basic truths: You are lucky to live, so live your life (and no one else's). You are lucky to love another. Art awakens you to real living.

Jonathan Kasdan--the writer and director--is the son of Lawrence Kasdan. This film is not a copy of his father's style, but it did remind me of the superior Lawrence Kasdan film, Grand Canyon. I think father would be proud.

I admit to be surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. Well cast, Meg Ryan in particular.

I enjoyed the dialog, the understated humor, and the story line. The grandmother's role left me somewhat confused, not sure I understand why it was written (or played) the way that it was. However that may be it was the device to get the main character Wisconsin, or was that Michigan? Meg Ryan finally had a role that she excel in. Just the right touch of someone who is more than they seem, and not realizing that themselves. Very interesting story between she and the main character...how they reach out and touch each other, impact each other's lives. Wish the movie had been about twenty minutes longer to better develop the characters and the interaction between them...but two hour movies just aren't the norm anymore and the 100 minutes must suffice. However, it was a 100 minutes well spent.

refuge after break up. new universe. and different forms of love. lessons of life. and the change. the basic virtue of film is to remind the old fashion romantic comedies. and it is not a small thing. because the humor and performances and romanticism are at the right place. sure, not at the perfect place. but the war between woman and man, the evolution of emotions, the dialogues and the feel to meet, again, after a long time, familiar situations, are the good point for this film who represents the fine definition of the discover of the other.