BOTTOM
LINE:
Steve
Carell puts in a wonderful, and very human performance in a non-comedic
romantic role as a windowed father of three daughters who falls
in love with a woman who later turns out to be his brother’s
girlfriend.
THE
GOOD: One
of the great things about this movie is watching Steve Carell play
a more-or-less the straight character in a light hearted drama.
Showing off his ability to act, Carell plays Dan Burns, a controlling
widowed father of three who also has a day job as a newspaper advice
columnist. Dan and his daughters visit their family in Rhode Island
for their annual get together, where Dan meets and has an extraordinary
connection with Marie (Binoche) while on a trip by himself in to
town. Later, Dan discovers to his horror that Marie is his brother’s
girlfriend, which leads to a series of awkward situations where
the couple find it difficult to hide their obvious connection from
Dan’s family. The film works very well as a light-hearted
drama, with all the characters given significant moments throughout
the film to shine. Carell and Binoche share an obvious chemistry,
while the supporting cast are likewise excellent, with Dane Cook
surprising everyone by not being obnoxious, and Emily Blunt playing
the ugly duckling turned beautiful swan girl from the family’s
past (who is also a little crazy). Director Peter Hedges manages
to create some solid moments between all the characters, making
them three-dimensional characters where they could have easily been
clichéd, particularly Dan’s daughters. Carell is the
star of the show of course, and in summary, “Dan In Real Life”
is a nice way to spend a few hours.
