Dan In Real Life Review

"Dan In Real Life" reviews

Movie

Dan In Real Life

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-10-08 21:36:51

Rating

3.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

As a surprisingly engaging romantic comedy starring an unlikely romantic lead, Dan in Real Life warms your heart in all the right places. And makes you want to eat pancakes.

Story

Come on, doesn't the movie poster just make you want to order buttermilk pancakes with loads of butter and syrup? Minus Steve Carell's forlorn head resting on top of the stack, of course. This poster is actually a true representation of Dan in Real Life. The film's message is that life can be full of sweet, yummy—and, yes, even messy—things; you only have to wake up and smell the maple syrup. This pertains to Dan Burns (Carell), a family-advice columnist who is still reeling from the death of his wife four years earlier. He finds it hard to cope, especially in dealing with his three rebellious daughters (Alison Pill, Brittany Robertson, Marlene Lawston), who wish he'd just get a life already. So to get away from it all, he coerces the girls into going to the annual Burns family reunion in the country, a boisterous bunch who are nonetheless worried about poor Dan. But as fate would have it, while on an errand, Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche) in the local bookstore and sparks fly. It's the first time he has felt anything for another woman, and it's exciting—until he finds out Marie is actually his little brother Mitch's (Dane Cook) new girlfriend, here to meet the family for the first time. Oops. Dan and Marie then spend the entire weekend trying to squelch and cover up their growing mutual attraction, but it's no use.

Acting

Steve Carell certainly seems to be multifaceted. First, he succeeds with the R-rated raunchy comedy (The 40 Year-Old Virgin), then the quirky R-rated indie thing (Little Miss Sunshine). He stumbled a little with the PG-family fare (Evan Almighty), but now the funnyman tries his hand at the PG-13 romantic comedy—and scores once again. You can see how Carell might be good in a rom-com from his sweet performance in Virgin, but he is able to soar in Dan in Real Life, incorporating his trademark reactionary techniques while turning in a genuine portrayal of a widower trying to move on--with or without the help of his intrusive, albeit loving, family. Binoche is right there with Carell every step of the way. The French actress is terribly endearing as Marie, and when she can't control herself from cracking up at Carell's antics, you know it's for real. The three young actresses playing Dan's daughters--Pill (Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen), as the oldest about to leave the nest; Robertson (Keeping Up with the Steins) as the middle pubescent and reigning drama queen; and little Lawston (Flightplan) as the pre-teen who still loves her daddy--also all do a nice job. Same goes for comedian Cook as Dan's flighty younger brother, Dianne Weist and John Mahoney as Dan's buttinsky parents—and a glammed-up Emily Blunt (Devil Wears Prada) as Dan's blind date, a girl Dan and his siblings used to call "Pig-Nosed Ruthie."

Direction

On the surface, Dan in Real Life does seem like it would be a bit mushy, a film that could easily lapse into corny pitfalls and over-weepy "family" moments. But in the hands of writer/director Peter Hedges, it's easy to see why Dan works: The guy knows how to craft scenes and write engaging dialogue without slipping into clichés. Just look at Hedges' short but impressive writing résumé of winning, intimate films--such as Pieces of April (which he also directed), About a Boy and What's Eating Gilbert Grape--to understand his talent. Dan follows suit. By centering the action on this one vacation, Hedges introduces you to a family anyone should be able to relate to in one form or another. Immediately recognizable are the dynamics between the Burns siblings, the cousins, the parents and their kids, which in turn allows for all those wacky, unpredictable, tender moments of familial bonding. The Burns family is particularly high on playing games and singing impromptu songs, especially the one Dan's brothers sing, about his imminent blind date with Ruthie. Good times. Throw in the undeniable chemistry of a good romantic comedy and you've got Dan in Real Life.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.

Copyright © CinemaSource 2008.

Movie

Dan In Real Life

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-01-04 16:39:16

Provider

MRIB

Review

Steve Carell stars in a witty and bittersweet comedy as a widowed newspaper columnist with three daughters and a yearning to find a new love.

Dan observes family life and imparts advice for his column. In his own life though he plays it safe, trying to keep his job and his rebellious kids on track as a single parent. When the traditional Autumn family reunion sees them returning to his childhood home to see his parents and many siblings, his caring relations spot his melancholy. So, they're delighted when he returns from a little enforced 'me time' to announce he's met a girl in the local bookshop who's given him back his buzz. However, it turns out the girl in question is Marie, his younger brother Mitch's new sweetheart. So the weekend becomes littered with his forlorn attempts to diminish their evident growing affection and evading discovery by the family.

A great little film that wisely avoids getting slotted into the US thanksgiving or Christmas movie slots by just having a family reunion 'cos families do that sort of thing. It's quality character comedy and pathos in the script that makes this so good: Carell, like most clown actors, cuts his chops on a lead role where his understated performance propels pretty much all events. A tremendous anchor for the troupe of supporting performers to work around. Dane Cook is the hip, but black sheep Mitch - the perfect foil for Carell's subjugated Dan. Emily Blunt is a highly effective femme fatale, John Mahoney (Frasier's Dad) and Woody Allen fave, Dianne Wiest bring on their accomplished skills as Dan's parents and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche is naturally romantic as Marie.

Pierce Gardner's well-fashioned script provides these actors with something of a rarity in the air these days; a story with believable charm and wit. It's littered with an irresistible balance of one-liners and acceptable comedy scenarios while still having enough earthiness in it's characters' actions and emotional range to evade ever being fawning or sickly sweet.

A lyrical, folk-sharp soundtrack by Sondre Lerche rounds out a great film that times it's welcome to departure perfectly and breaks out of the straight romantic comedy mould to have comedic touchstones, including Billy Wilder, Frank Capra and Woody Allen, for a modern audience.

Copyright © MRIB 2008.