| DAN IN REAL LIFE |
 2007 - USADirector: Peter Hedges
- Reviewed by Eric
Dan Burns (Steve Carell in real life) is an advice columnist with three daughters, raising them on his own after the death of his wife. Every year, the family tree rents a house and reunites for a week of quality time, crossword puzzles, and a rather elaborate talent show. With two angry teenage daughters (Brittany Robertson and Alison Pill), Dan ventures out to buy the newspapers one morning and encounters Marie (Juliette Binoche in real life) (okay I'll stop now). Dan and Marie hit it off, before she realizes she is late for something and disappears. It turns out that Marie is late for the Burns family reunion, as she is the new girlfriend of Dan's brother, Mitch (Dane Cook). This is the setup for a series of complications which, after all, are not that complicated—Marie realizes pretty quickly that she's with the wrong brother, but no one wants to hurt Mitch or ruin the family get-together. Meanwhile, the house is teeming with family, including Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney as mom and dad, two of the most appealing mom and dad types this side of Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson (who starred in the similar The Family Stone). Everyone can see that Dan is acting strange, but no one guesses what's really going on, even when Dan tenderly croons "Let My Love Open the Door" to Marie during the talent show. This is a moment that could have made me groan, but something about the fact that Dan (and/or Carell) REALLY can't sing made it a real tear-jerker. Let me talk about the casting some more. If there's one thing Carell does better than anyone else, it's comedy with a heart. That's why The Office is as painful as it is hilarious, and that's why nobody else on earth could have played Andy in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. And the Binoche! It's too bad I've used up my quota for the word "appealing" in this review, because that's what she is. When I found out she was in this movie, I thought, "Doesn't she have, like, something Oscar-worthy to star in?" But it's such a pleasure to see her in a movie that lets her be adorable (and kinda hot), and like Carell, she brings something extra to a potentially annoying role. And then, just when you've forgotten seeing her name in the opening credits, Emily Blunt shows up in a scene-stealing role that cements her status as our new favorite British import. Like Dan, of course, Dan has its problems. Maybe Dan's daughters turn against him just a little too hard over every little thing. Maybe Dan's family is a little insensitive when he starts acting strange. Maybe Dan's relationship with his brother is left CRIMINALLY UNRESOLVED by the end of the movie. But I didn't really care, because I was just so happy to see Dan and Marie end up together. Now that's the sign of a good romantic comedy. DVD NOTES - by LindaThere's the usual commentary by director Peter Hedges, deleted scenes (with or without commentary), a "making of" featurette, and outtakes where the actors flub their lines with giggles. However, one featurette I thought was particularly interesting was about the score and songs for the film, where Hedges hired Norwegian popster Sondre Lerche to write all the songs for the movie, in the same way that Simon & Garfunkel's tunes stamped The Graduate. To see a songwriter bursting with inspiration while working literally on the set amongst the actors and director is pretty neat, and the film has a lovely soundtrack to show for it. |
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Dan in Real Life is a good movie, but it's also proof that casting can make or break a movie. Not that Dan's script isn't smart and sweet, because it is, but it might easily have resulted in something closer to, well, a Dane Cook movie. (Cook is actually in this movie, but thankfully in a supporting role that doesn't give him room to be obnoxious.) This is an unapologetically conventional movie armed with two of the most appealing leads around: Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche.
