Movie Review for Dan in Real Life (2007)

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Review #554 of 365
Movie Review of Dan in Real Life (2007) [PG-13] 95 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $10.50
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 26 October 2007
Time: 10:55 pm
DVD Release Date: 11 March 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: Download now from Sondre Lerche - Dan In Real Life - or - order the CD below

Directed by: Peter Hedges (Pieces of April)
Written by: Pierce Gardner (Lost Souls) • Peter Hedges (Pieces of April) • ()

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Steve Carell (Evan AlmightyEvan Almighty) • Juliette Binoche (Breaking and Entering) • Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck) • Alison Pill ("The Book of Daniel") • Brittany Robertson (Keeping up with the Steins) • Marlene Lawston (Flightplan) • Dianne Wiest (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) • John Mahoney ("Frasier") • Emily Blunt (The Jane Austen Book Club) • Felipe Dieppa ("Dora the Explorer") • Norbert Leo Butz (West of Here) • Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)

Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Click to see photos from the Premiere of Dan in Real Life
Click to read the spoiler points for Dan in Real Life
What is real life? Ever felt set up to really love a movie by the preview and then felt entirely let down? Well, be prepared for Dan in Real Life, it's just that sort of film. This bittersweet comedy and, with all due respect, most of the best comedy is in the preview, falls quite a bit short of expectations. It's not really that hard to see the flaws, either, which makes one wonder how it wasn't apparent to everyone involved.
"Ever felt set up to really love a movie by the preview and then felt entirely let down?"
The story focuses on a single father, Dan (Steve Carell) who lost his wife to some illness four years earlier, struggling to raise three daughters: Jane 16ish (Alison Pill), Cara 14ish (Brittany Robertson), and Lilly 6 (Marlene Lawston). He's a local life columnist, sort of the Dear Abby for single parents. It's early fall, you know the time when everyone in New Jersey heads up to Rhode Island to help their parents close down the summer house causing their kids to miss school and driving their teachers crazy. Never mind that, Jane's upset because dad won't let her test out her new drivers license, Cara's very mad because she'd really rather stay and smooch Marty Barasco (Felipe Dieppa) her science lab, er lip locking, partner with whom she's fallen desperately in love during the course of the past three days, and Lilly, well, she's just six and still thinks her dad's pretty cool.

When they arrive, after a seemingly interminably long drive despite the distance of what cannot be more than 350 miles, the rest of the family is already there: Nana (Dianne Wiest), Poppy (John Mahoney), brother Mitch (Dane Cook), and various and sundry other brothers or sister or cousins none of whom is every really introduced very well. Nearly the first thing out of Nana's mouth is that Mitch has brought a girl, so Dan's going to have to sleep in the laundry room. And here it begins to sort of go downhill for Dan who while he seems like the most successful of the offspring, he's also the family whipping boy. The next morning, after having to fall asleep to an off-balance dryer, Dan is sent to get the morning paper in town. He's not asked, he's sent. Nana isn't really very nice about it either. While in town at the Book and Tackle Shop, which probably is only a successful combination in Rhode Island, he runs into Marie (Juliette Binoche) who believed him to be the stock boy and asks for recommendation on a book that she can lose herself in, that's funny but not in a funny way, that's unexpected, and etc. And this then makes for the first scene of the film to be followed by many, many more that are drug out simply way too long based on probably too little material interaction. The net result of this interaction would seem to be proverbial love at first sight. And this only after a planet-sized blueberry muffin, oh yes, they've got it all at The Book and Tackle and a long period of Marie listening to Dan talk on and on and on and on and on about himself. She gets a phone call and must leave, but he convinces her to continue the conversation later despite her admission to already being in a relationship. So, she hurries off in her car; and he, bitten by the love bug, heart pierced by Cupid's arrow, scurries back to the house where his face betrays his lengthy absence. As he's talking about his newfound love, suddenly she appears in the living room to be introduced as Mitch's new girlfriend. Ah, the world works in mysterious ways does it not? Dan's heart falls into his stomach as he realizes that she's the reason he's sleeping in the laundry room. And those newspapers were not just for reading, they were for the Burns family crossword showdown: boys vs. girls. With Marie on their team, the girls win hands down as she seems to know absolutely everything about everything and has been absolutely everywhere. The awkward tension grows between them, as do the unavoidable situations such as showering naked, well only she was naked, he was hiding in the shower from his daughter, together.

There's more emotional baggage in the Burns family than seven episodes of "Jerry Springer" but most of it will either be displaced onto Dan or blamed on him. When the ultimate no-no happens, poor Dan will be considered the heel and worthy of ostracism.

"… distracting music … endless scenes … trite ending…"
Between the offbeat and often distracting music by Sondre Lerche, the endless scenes that rub their points home to the extent of blistering, and the either all too trite or all to perfect ending, Dan in Real Life may be presenting a slice of real life, but it's a slice most people would cut off and throw away. It's unfortunate because the cast is quite likeable even if their characters are not. Who doesn't love Steve Carell and Dane Cook? As for Juliette Binoche, she's like one of the 7 Wonder of the Feminine World! Ah, but Co-writer / Director Peter Hedges needed to reign this thing in somewhere and realize that a rousing, mid-film, family musical number about Pig-Faced Ruthie (Emily Blunt) was probably not going to carry the film very far.
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Other Projects Featuring Dan in Real Life (2007)
Cast Members
Steve Carell • Juliette Binoche • Dane Cook
Alison Pill • Brittany Robertson • Marlene Lawston
Dianne Wiest • John Mahoney • Emily Blunt
Felipe Dieppa • Amy Ryan
Director
Peter Hedges
Writers
Pierce Gardner • Peter Hedges
MP3 Downloads
CD Soundtrack
DVD
VHS


Review-lite Dan in Real Life (2007) [max of 150 words]
Co-writer / director Peter Hedges presents a slice of life in Dan in Real Life. A story of finding true love on the wrong side of your brother, the film was set up as an outrageously funny, romantic comedy starring Steve Carell, Dane Cook, and Juliette Binoche. Well, it does star these three, but it's hardly outrageously funny. There are funny and romantic parts, mixed with interminably long scenes of family activities, but mostly watching the film is like thinking your going to crash a fun wedding that turns out to be a maudlin family reunion.
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