Dan In Real Life

Dan Scillieri

Personal Grade: "B"


Scott and I decided to see this romantic comedy movie to add a bit more substance to our website. Trying to move away from just horror movies we took a few friends to go see Dan In Real Life starring the always funny Steve Carell. This being the first movie we decided to see after the launch of our Talking In Movies website, it is kind of a landmark event. So here is my review, I hope you enjoy and please do remember to comment or tell us another movie we should see and review.

The movie kicks-off with Steve Carell (Dan Burns) as a loving single father with 3 daughters ranging from 17 to 9. He is a newspaper columnist who writes witty and clever replies to his fan letters. People write to him about family problems, issues with work and a variety of other problems but he always provides a motivational response in his article, which is growing in popularity. Dan decides to take his 3 girls on a weekend vacation to his parents house ( Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney) where all of his siblings and their families meet for an annual reunion. Dane Cook makes a comical appearance as Dan's brother Mitch, who keeps talking about a new girl in his life who is coming to stay with the family. The first morning at the house, Dan meets a mysterious but charming woman in a local bookstore. Marie (Juliette Binoche) is also in the area to visit a new boyfriend but spends most of the morning laughing and sipping tea with Dan (Steve Carell). Those reading this can probably piece 2 & 2 together and Marie turns out to be Mitch's new girlfriend, much to the dismay of Dan who has already begun falling for her. Over the next few days Dan must struggle with an overwhelming family and a growing love for Marie. These elements make for a great romantic comedy that I recommend, but here are my usual PROS and CONS so you can decide for yourself.

PROS:
Steve Carell may easily be one of the most popular actors of today, from his hilarious roll of Michael Scott on The Office to his ark building role of Evan Baxter in Evan Almighty. He plays a great father of 3 girls who is trying to understand them while being a good father. Each daughter presents an equal challenge that he must juggle, providing the movie with a steady flow of comedy. The best example of this would be Dan's relationship with his middle daughter Cara played by Brittany Robertson. She is a teenager who believes she has found true love at a young age. Like every father would, Dan steps in and would rather lock up his daughter then see her in a relationship with an equally young man. The level of laughs only increases when they make it to the family reunion and Dane Cook is just one member of this large family. That element of family is something everyone can relate to while watching this movie. Several times while in the theater I laughed while saying "that is just like my family". Every member of the family provides their own twist which makes Dan just a bit more miserable. Through out the movie you begin feeling so bad for Dan but those feelings usually come after a good laugh. "oh this poor guy" or " something has got to work out for him" was said on more than 1 occation. The chemisty between Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche is genuine and leaves you with your fingers crossed for a happy ending. The duration of the movie has you laughing and hoping that things work out for Dan who is searching for that missing piece of his life.

CONS:
There were not that many this time, like the previous postings we submitted here on Talking In Movies. One problem I had, that was not really a big deal, was the level of predictability. This is a common thing in romantic comedies, you catch yourself calling out events that are about to happen and hold your hands out moments later when they do. You go into the movie expecting that one terrible thing to happen because in every romantic comedy there is that one catostrophic event that the main character has to go through and eventually fix before the end of the movie. After that major event lead to my only other minor complaint with this movie, the quick ending. I won't spoil it but in my opinion, the movie comes to an abrupt ending which leaves you piecing together the remaining events. The ending still gives you a smile but could of had a bit more meat to it.

Overall, Dan In Real Life is a good romantic comedy that is suitable for a wide range of people. Both younger and older couples are not the only ones who can have a good laugh and a big smile during this movie. It hits so many levels of life that make it a movie you should go see in the theaters and rent when it comes out on DVD.