In the Land of Women

Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is a young, softcore porn writer living in Los Angeles when his young, starlet girlfriend Sofia (Elena Anaya) dumps him. Carter pleads with Sofia for her to stay, but she leaves nonetheless, though visibly upset. Carter then goes to his mother's home in order to reclaim an item when he sees his mother crying in the living room. She explains that her mentally unstable mother, Phyllis, (Olympia Dukakis), claims that she is dying – though her doctor cannot find anything fatal. Carter's mother tells him that she will be leaving to go to Michigan to take care of Phyllis. Carter offers to take his mother's place as caregiver for his grandmother, explaining that he wanted to get out of the life he was currently living and write a biographical story he has been working on the past eleven years. Though his mother objects to this decision and tries to warn him, he ignores her and flies to Michigan. Meanwhile, Paige (Makenzie Vega) and Lucy (Kristen Stewart) Hardwicke, who live across the street from Phyllis, are returning from school. Lucy's mother, Sarah Hardwicke (Meg Ryan), calls Lucy to the kitchen. She hesitantly tells Lucy that she has found a lump in her breast, a possible sign of breast cancer, and is to see a doctor in the coming days. Lucy, shocked, wants to come with her mother when she receives her results, but Sarah quickly refuses. Outside, Carter finally arrives. He knocks on the door with a cheerful remark, and Phyllis, obviously forgetting her own grandson, slams the door on him. After a quick negotiation, she lets him inside. Phyllis reveals that she has been starving herself the past three weeks, and Carter sees that all of the food in her home has gone stale. After a couple brief phone calls with his mother and his boss, Carter begins to clean up his grandmother's home. When Carter takes out the trash, Lucy, who is smoking on her roof, watches him. He drops the trash, and Lucy begins to snicker; hearing her laughter, Carter turns toward her, and she hides in the shadow of the roof. Sarah hears the noise and comes outside with her dog, Bozo, and warmly introduces herself to Carter. They have a brief talk before Lucy's friends arrive loudly down the road and Sarah goes back inside. Lucy and Carter meet, and she asks Carter not to tell her parents that she smokes. He agrees, and takes a cigarette from her before she leaves. The next morning, Sarah arrives at Carter's doorstep, bringing cookies and offering for him to walk with her. They walk around the neighborhood, talking about their lives. Sarah eventually mentions Sofia, wondering about his love for her. Carter thinks about his relationship, and decides that it really wasn't true love. He explains that he has written love letters for her, outpouring his affection for Sofia. Carter believes, as a writer, that this is the best work that he has ever done. After Sarah returns home, she sees that Carter is heartbroken and needs someone to take his mind off Sofia. She asks Lucy to ask Carter out on a date. Lucy bitterly refuses, calling it "lame" to ask someone out from across the street that she doesn't even know. Sarah's husband agrees and Sarah abruptly leaves the room, frustrated. She goes to her bathroom, filling a small cup of medicine to subside her pain. Her husband follows her, trying to assuage the situation by insisting that Lucy will apologize and ask Carter on a date. The next day, Carter decides to go on a run. While running, he has flashbacks of all the memorable times he had with Sofia: their meeting, their first kiss, and so on, until it finally leads to the break up. When she utters the word "goodbye" once more, Carter runs into a tree and passes out. When he wakes up, he sees Lucy standing over him. She gives him a ride home and then asks him out. Carter seems interested, but suggests that she ask her parents' permission first as it is a school night. Lucy, confused, agrees, and goes back inside. Shortly thereafter, Sarah invites Carter on another walk. This time, she leads him into a small patch of forest. She admits that her husband is having an affair and that she does not love him – at least not the way Carter loved Sofia. They hug and leave to run errands together. They share an awkward moment of both having something to say to the other; Carter begins with the declaration that Sarah's husband is "out of his mind." Sarah smiles, and dismisses what she has to say. Eventually, the two deepen their friendship and later, when she tells him she is sick, they kiss. Carter also goes to the movies with Lucy and Paige. Carter finds out that Sofia has been dating the actor Colin Farrell. After a party, Carter and Lucy share a kiss which Sarah sees and is quickly angered. She tells Carter to leave Lucy alone and to never speak to them again. Sarah gets her cancer treatments and it is revealed that everything will be alright. Carter writes her a love letter, which he gives her but she does not read until she finds alone time in the hospital. Carter comes downstairs to find his grandmother has died but does not call the hospital she wanted him to call. Instead, he goes outside and takes a walk, where he meets up with Sarah. She apologizes and they are able to end their friendship on good terms. The story closes with a snapshot of Sarah and Lucy's new, healthier relationship.