Dan in Real Life (2007)

A Pleasant Date Movie

Wow, Steve Carrell, Juliette Binoche and Dane Cook all in the same movie. I've never heard of Dane Cook until I read all these comparisons of him to the late great American icon comic George Carlin. And now he has a featured role alongside one of the most accomplished French actresses in cinema, Binoche. Dan in Real Life, is obviously going to attract fans of "The Office's" Steve Carrell, who is very good in this movie, but if you're not a fan of any of the principal actors, then this is just another harmless date movie. As Hollywood stories go, Dan in Real Life, comes up with a plot device centuries old and a conclusion just as antique. There are some unexplicable happenings, but movies are a fantasy world, where imagining the impossible has to come true. Dan in Real Life is fictional but it's also fun. In it's own unique way, "Dan in Real Life" is a pleasant reminder that it's never too late to find your other half. September 21, 2008

Watching a man mope isn't entertainment

Watch a depressed, dejected, sullen faced man mope around for two hours. Sounds like a barrel of laughs! Dan in Real Life is two hours of watching a middle aged man mope. That, and be a controlling father obsessed with squashing his teenage daughter's sexuality. But see, its cute that he wants to slap a chastity belt on his daughter, because he's upset over not having love in his own life. Enter, Juliet Binoche - alluring no matter how brain dead this role is. Dan falls for her in a bookstore, even though she doesn't tell him a word about herself. But it is true love, see, because she giggles at all of Dan's banter as he talks about himself non stop for an hour. Here comes the Three's Company moment - Juliet is dating Dan's brother! Now Dan can mope around sulking and acting like a baby because Juliet is with his brother and not him. Isn't that cute and charming? Look, Dan has a temper tantrum at the dining room table, ha ha! Oops, Dan has to hide in the shower and the water gets turned on! Tee-hee, Dan watches Juliet's butt while she does aerobics with Dan's brother. Dan in Real Life is situation comedy to the max. But wait - you don't want to miss the sentimental moment when Dan sings Let My Love Open the Door to Your Heart! He hasn't played guitar or sang since his wife died, cue the tears. Bleck. Gag. Will Dan get the girl, or choke on a bottle of Zoloft? Only masochistic movie goers will find out. September 18, 2008

Super Dad has a meltdown

Dan in Real Life by Richard D. Costa

How does a single father of three young daughters save his children from the corruption of modern culture? He writes a column on how to do it right, politely rebukes male suitors at the doorstep and embraces the power of the word every father worth their salt has at his disposal: `no.'
So begins the story of columnist and book author Dan Burns (Steve Carell) in Dan in Real Life. Dan walks the straight and narrow. He lives with his two teen-aged and one nine-year old daughter in New Jersey. They take a road trip to visit his parents in Rhode Island for a weekend reunion with their large extended family in what should be an uneventful family event in the otherwise uneventful life of a widowed father. But life has other designs.
Once in Rhode Island, Dan takes a ride around town after his mother nudges him to take a break from battling his hormonal teen-aged daughters. In a seaside bookstore he meets the lovely Maria (played by Juliet Binoche). Infatuated, he helps her find books and soon unloads his entire life story to her, including the loss of his wife four years earlier. He insists on seeing her again, and they part company.
When Dan returns to his parents' house where his family has gathered for the reunion, Dan's brother Mitch (Dane Cook) introduces him to his new girlfriend, the very same Maria he met in the bookstore.
The awkwardness that follows as the two try to mask their affection for each other for the sake of temperamental Mitch fuels the comedy in Dan in Real Life.
What works about this film is Carell's responsible, understated persona struggling with uncontrollable passion. He makes a complete fool of himself repeatedly, and it's a pleasure to watch. Binoche lights up the screen with her shapely figure and personality, while Dane Cook plays the perfect unintentional foil to the forces of love and destiny.
The settings in Providence, Newport and Jamestown showcase the areas hitherto often unappreciated beauty, and the simple, pleasant traditions observed by the Burns family gives the film a simple touch of heart and hominess. In-laws, children and relatives parade freely through the beautiful waterfront home during the film. They eat meals together, play football, play games, go kayaking and do aerobics. They even have a family talent show in the living room. The lead characters give the film their best, while the supporting roles (with the likes of Dianne Wiest as momma Burns and Frasier's John Mahoney playing Dan's father) round the cast out nicely.
In the end, Dan gets a lesson about his escalating bad behavior from none other than his own put upon daughters who he plays super dad to.
The plot isn't terribly complex, but a quaint family atmosphere, a forbidden romance and the meltdown of a responsible, restrained father makes for moments that are both touching and funny. The extended Burns family members are sweet, kind and intrusive. Dan's protective confrontations with his fourteen year old daughter Cara and her would be suitor are particularly entertaining.
Norwegian performer Sondre Lerche provides much of the soundtrack, which includes a remake of a famous Pete Townsend song. Lerche and singer Lillian Samdal appear at the end of the film in a melodic, jazzy duet performance of Lerche's Modern Nature. Look sharp for local Rhode Island locations (including beautiful waterfront panoramas) in this one.

September 8, 2008

No chemistry . .

I think this movie would have been SO much better had they recast Juliette Binoche with somebody else (anybody else actually!) like Monica Potter for instance. I never bought Ms. Binoche on any level in this film and the entire family's total gushing over her was so unbelievable. Steve Carell's so-called chemistry with her was painful to watch. But the setting was beautiful! August 30, 2008

Unexpectedly good

I was pleasantly surprised by "Dan in Real Life," a bittersweet romantic comedy that features Steve Carell in a role that's very much out of his element. Carell plays Dan Burns, a widowed newspaper columnist raising three daughters. It's been four years since Dan's wife passed away, and he never thought he'd find love again. When Dan ducks out of a family reunion in Rhode Island and ends up in a local bookstore, he meets a charming woman named Marie (Juliette Binoche). Dan is amazed and excited by the fact that he's finally interested in a woman, until he discovers that Marie recently started dating his brother, Mitch (Dane Cook). The family vacation becomes incredibly strained when Marie shows up to join the party, and she and Dan fight to try to keep their budding attraction to each other a secret.

Overall, this is a cute little movie. It's a story about finding love, but it also deals with the strained relationships between parents and their children, and stresses the intense bonds of family in general. I've never been a big fan of Carell's, but this film demonstrated his versatility as an actor and is definitely the best thing I've seen him in so far. If you're in the mood for a cute, feel-good little movie, this is a great one for you. August 30, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...