Attention, all grieving fans of The OC suffering from Adam Brody withdrawal: Your favorite curly-haired geek is back in a decidedly better role than Seth Cohen with his new movie, In the Land of Women.

Brody plays Carter Webb – essentially Cohen with a little more attitude – a twenty-something softcore pornography writer living in Los Angeles and struggling for an identity after his superstar actress girlfriend, Sofia (Elena Anaya, Van Helsing), dumps him.

Soon after the breakup, Webb decides to go to suburban Detroit to take care of his grandmother Phyllis (Olympia Dukakis, Away From Her), who is growing senile and is obsessed with the idea that she is about to die. Webb plans on using the time away from the hustle and bustle of California to write a book about his experiences in an L.A. public high school.

But upon arriving in Detroit, he meets Sarah Hardwicke (Meg Ryan, You’ve Got Mail), a stressed-out housewife struggling to hold together her dysfunctional family while battling breast cancer.

The movie focuses on Webb’s relationships with Sarah, her angsty teenage daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart, Cold Creek Manor) and his grandmother. Despite the complicated relationships, first-time writer and director Jon Kasdan does a good job of showing Webb’s internal struggles with losing Sofia and his new friendships with Lucy and Sarah.

The movie is also wonderful technically. There are some beautiful rain-soaked scenes and shots of the luscious scenery, and the musical score is spot-on, but the movie stands up because of its strong script.

Kasdan allows Brody to really shine as the star of the film, overshadowing more renowned actors like Ryan. Brody said in an interview with The Diamondback that the script was one of the strongest he’s seen – especially because Kasdan wrote the script when he was only 24 years old.

“I thought the script was fantastic,” he said. “This is an old-fashioned movie. [Kasdan] does some really adult stuff with it.”

Overall, the movie is a typical coming-of-age film and can be predictable, but Kasdan makes the characters so intriguing that it is easy for the audience to sit back and enjoy the show. For example, although Webb has become jaded from his rough experiences as a pornography writer and his nasty breakups, he still comes off as kind-hearted and wise beyond his years – much like Cohen’s character in The OC and Brody’s in real life.

“You’re always trying to infuse the character with yourself,” Brody said.

Surprisingly, Brody hasn’t missed The OC much.

“The OC good-bye wasn’t that hard,” he said. “I still keep in contact with most of the people, although I can’t see myself working with them again, because that’d be weird for an audience.”

Though he has braved life after The OC, Brody did not rule out a return to the small screen.

“I’ll probably bounce back and forth between film and television,” he said. “Right now I’m really digging film – I like the idea of telling one story, then moving on and telling another story, as opposed to having the ongoing stories of television.”

And Brody is glad he has finally moved to the big leagues of Hollywood.

“When you are the lead, you’re there every day,” he said. “When you’re finally done, it feels like an accomplishment.”

As it should – with a stellar performance from the former OC-er, an impressive script and eye-catching cinematography, In the Land of Women is something to be proud of.

Contact reporter Jason Koebler at aggro@umd.edu.