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Review & Trailer: Dan in Real Life

by Jane Boursaw on March 11th, 2008

Movie: Dan in Real Life	on DVD:	March 11, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some innuendo	Gecko Rating:

Dan Burns (Steve Carell) is a widower, a single dad to three daughters, and a popular family advice columnist. The name of his column is “Dan in Real Life,” and he answers readers’ questions on everything from dating to dropping out of school.

At his family’s annual reunion at their lake cottage, he meets a beautiful stranger named Annie (Juliette Binoche) in a bookstore/bait shop. They immediately hit it off, but that joy is short-lived when Dan discovers that Annie is the incredible new girlfriend of his brother, Mitch (Dane Cook).

As the reunion gets underway, Dan and Annie scramble to hide their mutual attraction for each other - awkward! Dan learns that even though he makes a living dispensing advice to others, it’s not so easy following it himself.

More after the jump, including a trailer…

This movie is funny, touching, and romantic, and it shows that no matter how you slice it, relationships are messy. It’s nice to see Steve Carell be the romantic lead for once, instead of that moronic dolt Michael Scott on “The Office.” But don’t worry – we still get to see him do some physical comedy, like falling off a roof and doing his goofy dance steps.

Even though it’s billed as a romantic comedy, much of the movie is about the delicate thread that weaves families together. John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest are wonderfully funny as Dan’s parents, and Alison Pill, Brittany Robertson, and Marlene Lawston hit all the right notes as his daughters.

I’m not sure the chemistry is right between Carell and Binoche. I didn’t really sense that these two would fall for each other in such a big way, but I did warm up to the idea by the time they snuck away to a sweet encounter in a bowling alley. The movie also seemed a little long. I checked my watch a few times in the middle.

What I DID love about this movie is that aside from a few innuendos, it’s mercifully free of profanity and violence. Also, the soundtrack featuring tunes by Sondre Lerche is wonderful.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW:

Sex/ Nudity: Mild references to masturbation and “unclogging the pipes,” a character makes out with her boyfriend and tells her dad she’s not having sex, a character undresses and gets into the shower with another fully-clothed character, two characters kiss.

Violence/Gore: A character falls out of a second-story window and gets hit in the face with a football. One character punches someone, and another backs into a police car.

Profanity: One “damn” and one “f**k”.

Bonus Features: Deleted scenes w/commentary by writer/director Peter Hedges; Real-Life Outtakes; Just Like Family: The Making of “Dan in Real Life”; Handmade Music: Creating the Score; Audio Commentary with writer/director Peter Hedges.

Trailer: