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Rating:  - 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.
Rating:  - 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!
Rating:  - 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.
Rating:  - ABOVE AVERAGE STEVE CARELL GIVES A WINNING PERFORMANCE! 3 1/2 STARS
'Dan In Real Life' is an above average romantic comedy. Steve Carell is perfectly cast as a lovable father of three growing daughters, who loses his wife and just can't seem to "get back into the dating world". By chance he meets someone special, but there's a problem, which I do not want to give away. It's much better to see it for yourself. I did enjoy this film as it deals with some interesting family issue, but I thought Dane Cook was a little out of his league, his performance isn't bad, but I just can't see him as anything, but a comedian. I watched this on a HD channel, so I do not know anything about the DVD features or quality.
Rating: - Watching a Novel
This is one of the movies that I had to be dragged to in order to see. I normally don't like Steve Carrell's comedy and I thought the premise sounded stupid and predictable. Within ten minutes, I was completely captivated. I have watched this film three times now and each time, I feel like I am somehow watching a novel. As a writer, I responded on such a guttural level. Although there are a couple scenes that seem a touch over the top, the movie does an excellent job of capturing the humanity and fullness of life of each of its characters in a way that is normally only possible in literature, given the time restraint of film. Dan in Real Life allows you to experience the sadness, pain, and insanity of life in a way that lets you see the beauty of it all and leaves with an overwhelming sense of contentment and hope.
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