Dan in Real Life (2007)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 169
Fresh: 108 | Rotten: 61
The fine performances elevate Dan in Real Life beyond its sentimental plot.
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 15
The fine performances elevate Dan in Real Life beyond its sentimental plot.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 362,528
My Rating
Movie Info
A widower and father of three who also writes a parenting advice column for his local newspaper falls for the girlfriend of his younger brother during a family vacation in director Peter Hedges' offbeat love-triangle laugher. Steve Carell stars as the writer who finds his widely known convictions put to the ultimate test, with Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche respectively assuming the roles of the younger sibling and his radiant girlfriend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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Cast
-
Steve Carell
Dan Burns -
Juliette Binoche
Marie -
Dane Cook
Mitch -
Alison Pill
Jane -
Brittany Robertson
Cara -
Marlene Lawston
Lilly -
Dianne Wiest
Nana -
John Mahoney
Poppy -
Norbert Leo Butz
Clay -
Amy Ryan
Eileen -
Jessica Hecht
Amy -
Frank Wood
Howard -
Henry Miller
Will -
Ella Miller
Rachel -
Cameron Adams
Elliot -
Jessica Lussier
Jessica -
Seth D'Antuono
Gus -
Margot Janson
Olivia -
Willa Cuthrell-Tuttleman
Bella -
Emily Blunt
Ruthie Draper -
Felipe Dieppa
Marty Barasco -
Matthew J. Morrison
Policeman -
Bernie McInerney
James Lamson -
Amy Landecker
Cindy Lamson -
Steve Mellor
Bookstore Clerk -
Pauline Gregory
Bowling Alley Manager -
Shana Carr
Suzanne Burns -
Nicole Morin
Jane (Age 13) -
Charlotte Davies
Cara (Age 11) -
Zoe Paulkis
Lilly (Age 4) -
Lucas Hedges
Lilly's Dance Partner -
Sondre Lerche
Sondre Lerche -
Kato ??dland
Wedding Band Guitar Pla... -
Ole Ludvig Krüger
Wedding Band Drummer -
Morten Skage
Wedding Band Bass Playe... -
Marci Occhino
Wedding Singer -
Michael Peavey
Helicopter Pilot
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All Critics (170) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (114) | Rotten (64) | DVD (23)
Smoothly entertaining fare, but with a bit more nerve it could have been so much more.
Top CriticThis is his [Carell's] most assured and rounded performance to date.
Now, everybody knows that Steve Carell is lovable.
It's a nice film. There's some nice touches to it.
Why must so many family-friendly romantic comedies give us such wan, forgettable dialogue and predictable situations? Dan is derivative at best, and feels like filmmaking by focus group at worst.
A movie nicely packed with pleasantly unpredictable surprises.
A charming, though occasionally off-target -- and consistently tempo-challenged -- romantic comedy.
The most cloying family meeting since A Very Brady Christmas
Una comedia romántica muy menor, predecible e intrascendente que desaprovecha por completo el talento de un buen elenco. Una lástima.
What's wrong with Steve Carrell? His is one of the quickest falls from comedy to crap since Chevy Chase.
A creature made of gingerbread and hugs.
I prefer a little more dysfunction in my dysfunctional family comedies.
Carell and Binoche are great fun to watch, doing just what the movie requires (not much, as scripted by Pierce Gardner and director Peter Hedges) and then some.
Carell seems to be at his best when he is put in awkward situations and is forced to make a fool out of himself, and there are plenty of those moments in Dan in Real Life.
Alas, [Hedges'] forays behind the camera with Pieces of April and now Dan in Real Life indicate he's got Sundance intentions but a Hallmark Channel soul.
There's a decent collection of extras here, including a full-length commentary by writer/ director Peter Hedges.
Writer/ director Peter Hedges likes to touch on deeper emotional truths, but he doesn't have the courage to really probe his characters' struggles in a meaningful way.
Because it touches on the universal themes of loss and love so honestly, it is a film that feels authentic even in its many contrivances.
The DVD of this middling serio comedy includes outtakes and deleted scenes, commentary from helmer Hedges describing Carell as blessed with "Chekhovian sadness" and hidden video footage that reveals the lead man as perfectionist, asking for more takes
The plot often falls into contrivance, but the crazy-yet-comfortable chaos of the family reunion setting smoothes it all over...
...ultimately succumbs to an egregious emphasis on inauthentic elements...
Audience Reviews for Dan in Real Life
Super Reviewer
This isn't a Comedy in the sense that you'll be laughing all the way through, but it is a relatable Comedy with comical parts. Those family get togethers, the adult and child double standards - easy watching with a feel good factor.
Super Reviewer
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- Dan Burns: This corn is an angel.
-
- Cara: You are a murderer of love!
-
- Dan Burns: I don't want to go out with the pig... Face.
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- Dan Burns: Life... Is full of disappointments.
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Foreign Titles
- Como la vida misma (ES)
