Arts & Entertainment

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West Bloomfield's Lee Brody knells about
the star of a new film set in Michigan.

Elaine Perlin Crossley

Special to the Jewish News

H

e may have said his dewy-eyed
goodbyes as the quirky, lovable
Seth Cohen on the hit TV series
The OC, but Jewish actor Adam Brody, now
27, is greeting the big screen with a new
brand of charisma as he stars in two films
opening April 20.
Opening nationwide is In the Land
of Women, in which Brody plays Carter
Webb, a TV writer from Los Angeles who
has been jilted by his actress girlfriend
and packs up his shattered heart to head
to suburban Michigan to tend to his ail-
ing grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) and
escape into a long-awaited writing project.
Brody's other new film, Smiley Face,
which premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival and opens in limited release on
the same day (no Michigan date set as of
press time) is a quirky comedy starring
Anna Faris as a struggling but perpetu-
ally stoned actress, with Brody making an
appearance as "Steve the Dealer."
When Brody's character heads to
Michigan in In the Land of Women, he
unexpectedly meets a family of females
who live directly across the street from
his grandmother. Meg Ryan plays Sarah
Hardwicke, a mom of two daughters, Lucy
(Kristen Stewart), a beautiful angst-ridden

teen, and Paige (Makenzie Vega), a savvy,
precocious 11-year-old.
As the members of the Hardwicke
household reveal their respective secrets
to Carter, each falls for him in her own
way, indelibly impacting his life. And voila:
a recipe for a fresh film peppered with
comedic elements, human vulnerability,
relatable characters and self-discovery.
The movie is the directorial debut
of Jonathan Kasdan, who also wrote it.
Kasdan has followed in the show business
footsteps of his famous parents, Lawrence
and Meg Kasdan, and older brother,
Jake (Orange County). His dad is the
writer-director-producer fondly regarded,
especially in these parts, for writing and
directing the University of Michigan-laced
hit film The Big Chill. Mom Meg, with
local roots, also is a writer and producer.
Jake Kasdan is set to release The TV
Set, his industry satire starring David
Duchovny.

Some Coincidence
In a rare film coincidence of life imitat-
ing art, not only does Adam Brody's film
grandma in In The Land of Women reside
in suburban Michigan, so does Brody's
real-life grandmother, Lee Brody of West
Bloomfield. In contrast to his screen
grandma, however, Lee is active, attrac-
tive, stylish — and overjoyed by Adam's

Photo by bane Hentscher

Adam Brody, center, with Grandma

Adam Brody as Carter Webb and Olympia

Lee Brody, right, and actress

Dukakis as Grandma Archer in In the Land of

Rachel Bilson

Women

Adam Brody as Carter Webb in director Jonathan Kasdan's In the Land of Women

stardom.
"Every time I watched him on The
OC:' Lee says, "I kvelled. I'd say to myself,
`That's my grandson!' I'm so proud and
excited that he's starring in a new movie'
She still smiles about the facial expres-
sion of the young man in the movie the-
ater box office when she bought herself
a ticket to see Adam in the 2003 crude-
humored teen skateboarding flick, Grind.
"He looked pretty puzzled:' she chuckles.
Adam's more recent film credits include
Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Thank You For
Smoking.
Lee visited with her grandson last
Thanksgiving at the San Diego home of
her son and daughter-in-law, Mark and
Valerie Brody. Both of Adam's parents were
raised in Metro Detroit and are gradu-
ates of Southfield High School. Mark is
an attorney, and Valerie (nee Siefman), a
graphic designer.
"When we're all together for a family
dinner:' says Lee of her grandson, "he's
just Adam, and he pitches in to help like
everyone else. Yet, he's a movie star."
She and her late husband, Bernie, lived
in San Diego from 1979 to 1987, during
the time when Adam, their first grandson,
was born.
Lee reminisces, "I was excited then and
still am. He was a bright, cute child. We
bought him his first pair of cowboy boots
as a toddler, and he loved them so much

that he slept in them."
She adds, "With all of his accomplish-
ments, Adam remains level-headed, his
feet are on the ground, and that's what
excites me most."
A volunteer for hospice and an occa-
sional usher at Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield, Lee's life is filled with friends,
volunteer work and the joy she reaps from
Adam and his younger twin brothers,
Matthew and Sean, 22.
Matthew will embark upon graduate
studies in the field of environmental toxi-
cology, and Sean, an exceptional surfer,
has traveled the globe and is resuming
studies at San Diego State University.
"Grandma Lee as the boys call her,
gets a kick out of the reactions of young
women she meets when they discover she
is Adam's grandmother. They swoon, and
she beams.
Protective of her family's privacy, Lee is
willing to confirm a few bytes of informa-
tion about her grandson: He was born
Adam Jared Brody on Dec. 15, 1979. He's
a good surfer, is the drummer in a band
called Big Japan, and he and his former
girlfriend and OC co-star, actress Rachel
Bilson, amicably parted company late last
year. E

In the Land of Women, rated PG-13,
opens nationwide on April 20.

April 12 • 2007

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