Early in "In the Land of Women," young Hollywood writer Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is gently dumped by his foreign fashion model girlfriend (Alena Enaya). She does it in a busy coffee shop so the poor schlub can't even make a scene. He just sits there looking misty-eyed and miserable as the love of his life walks away.

Next thing you know he's in suburban Michigan, ostensibly to look in on his senile, hermit-like grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) but mostly to get away from anything remotely resembling romance and heartbreak.

Her teenage daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart) is going through a rebellious phase (she makes snarky anti-consumer comments about having to live in a Crate and Barrel showroom). Much of her anger stems from her indecision about when and how to ease into the world of opposite-sex relationships.

"In the Land of Women" is the directing debut of Jon Kasdan (son of Hollywood vet Lawrence Kasdan), who also wrote the screenplay. It's hardly a perfect affair — Kasdan too often goes for cheap moments, whether dramatic or comedic (for example, Carter's regular gig is writing scripts for soft-core porn productions). But he's drawn such terrific performances from his players that the film's shortcomings are excusable.

Ryan is a revelation. The ex-America's Sweetheart digs into her role as a disaffected suburban mom with a fierceness and fragility. She lets herself look haggard here, but at the same time she's astonishingly sexy. This performance could revive her career.

Stewart, who just a few years ago played Jodie Foster's androgynous daughter in "The Panic Room," has blossomed into a young beauty with acting chops to spare. It's a delightfully off-balance performance that blends innocence, anger, artistic impulse and Lolita-ish seductiveness (although the character is blissfully oblivious to how she affects boys).

Dukakis serves mostly as a comedic foil as the out-of-touch Granny, who doesn't quite believe that this young man is the same kid who used to visit.

Holding down the center is Brody, late of TV's "The O.C." and "Gilmore Girls." His persona melds Topher Grace and Zach Brach without either's self-consciousness. He's a normal-looking guy who can be funny but never goes overboard; essentially this is a straight performance with some drolly amusing moments, but he manages to take even the most strained moment or line of dialogue and make it not only palatable but compelling.

Best of all he walks a tightrope between compassion and self-obsession. This is a guy who describes himself as a good listener but who is usually too wrapped up in his own emotions to hear anyone. That makes him the perfect backboard against which these women can lob their emotional three-pointers. And he makes it all look easy.

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