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After a traumatic incident, a sorta-cool nerd from Los Angeles moves to regular America, where new friendships with an estranged relative and a slightly quirky mother-daughter team give his life a fresh spin. Nope, it’s not Garden State, that downbeat indie fave from a couple years back — but Jonathan Kasdan’s dramedy is a fair big-studio approximation. Adam Brody is our transitional male, and he’s low-key and likable. His burgeoning development is bolstered by his new neighbors: Kristen Stewart is the awkward teen, while Meg Ryan (with humongous new lips) continues her awkward shift out of cutie-pie roles to play mom (and not very believably). Land has a few winsome moments. But unsure of its own small charms, it falls back on conventional big-movie plot tactics that feel artificially constructed. Starts Fri., April 20.
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2007.
