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Dan in Real Life (2007)

Director: Peter Hedges

Time Out rating

Average user rating

14 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

A Thanksgiving family gathering becomes a romantic battleground for widower Steve Carell in this pleasant, if dismayingly contrived frolic, heavily reliant on its leading man’s ability to convey repressed sexuality with an amiable charm. Carell’s Dan Burns dispenses parenting advice in his newspaper column, but proves as hapless as any father bringing up three girls on his own, and has retired to the sidelines of the dating game for so long that the rest of his extended clan view him with pity. Then, of course, it happens. He falls for irresistibly lovely and intelligent Juliette Binoche during a bookstore encounter, only to return to his folks’ house and discover she’s already an item with his fitness-instructor brother (Dane Cook).

Since assorted siblings, partners and sprogs occupy every inch of floor space, while communal meals and planned jollity fill most waking hours, the would-be couple’s illicit manoeuvrings are played for effectively awkward comedy. With Diane Wiest presiding as mater familias, the ghost of Woody Allen haunts these upscale surroundings, but the script’s propensity for neatly resolving emotional issues via farcical set-pieces pitches rather closer towards synthetic Steve Martin territory. Indeed, loading the dice in favour of Carell (we don’t buy hang-loose Binoche and laddish funnyman Cook for a micro-second), and stringing everything along to Sondre Lerche’s gratingly twee acoustic ditties, the movie too often opts for sugar-coating over high-fibre. A shame really, since its underlying point about parents not reneging on their own happiness for the sake of their offspring is touchingly true. Smoothly entertaining fare, but with a bit more nerve it could have been so much more.

Author: Trevor Johnston

Time Out London Issue 1951: January 9-15 2008

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User reviews of this film

Steve Carrell said...

Posted on Nov 02 2008 23:34 Oh my god, I am so very sorry for all of the pain I have inflicted by making such a ridiculouse film. I'm not sure if it was the unrealistic script, repetative plot or pointless messages that make me so ashamed. I vomited in my mouth when I warned the end back and realized what I had done. I am so ashamed! Steve Carroll.

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Aja said...

Posted on Apr 28 2008 19:57 Not what I expected. Refreshingly wholesome and uplifting. Well written. relationship rich. Beautiful cinematography. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Bill said...

Posted on Mar 17 2008 14:32 Great! I want to put it in the top 10 of all time. Predictability? Perhaps. But you want to know exactly what happens next - and then it comes up with surprises. Scenes often have many background characters acting marvelously. You can watch it over and over just for that.

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James said...

Posted on Mar 10 2008 19:56 The film is pretty average, but the soundtrack is fantastic. "Gratingly twee" my arse!

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Olivia Bohannon said...

Posted on Jan 31 2008 22:29 I Havnt Seen It Yet But It Sounds Like Its Reeli Good! Steve Is An Immense Actor... He Always Does Stunningly Well =]
Hopfully The Movie Will Be Better Than I Think It Is =] =] =]

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qdawd said...

Posted on Jan 31 2008 14:46 this film is for gays and lesbos

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April.x said...

Posted on Jan 27 2008 19:30 Steve carol .. he made this film good.. he is such a laff.
although i think the film would not have been as good without him.

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Jess said...

Posted on Jan 26 2008 13:13 Amazing..really enjoyed it!

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manda tulloch said...

Posted on Jan 22 2008 18:05 biggest pile of rubbish ever, expected it to be much better!!

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Katie said...

Posted on Jan 22 2008 14:52 I Liked it- Average- Nothing special- Not one you need to think about!!!! Light Entertainment.

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Loz said...

Posted on Jan 21 2008 17:05 This is probably the worst film i have ever seen. It is really predictable and boring... the only good thing about it is that Steve Carrell was in it. Definantly not what i expected.

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Jojo said...

Posted on Jan 19 2008 12:26 Really enjoyable feel good film. Not laugh out loud funny but really great and well acted. Characters so completely real and believable was really believing it all. Thank god Steve Carrell is doing something decent finally.

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Tina said...

Posted on Jan 18 2008 14:39 My friend and I both enjoyed this film, it wasn't the rom com i was expecting however, it was more of a drama with some comedy elements. Enjoyable.

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edward popplewell said...

Posted on Jan 17 2008 11:56 awful, predictable. steve carrell WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YOURSELF MAN!!!!!!?? hated it 4 of us went to see it and none of us even liked any part of it!

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