Opening

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67% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
83% Fill the Void May 24
—— A Green Story
—— Alyce Kills May 24

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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
Dan in Real Life

Dan in Real Life (2007)

tomatometer

64

Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 169
Fresh: 108 | Rotten: 61

The fine performances elevate Dan in Real Life beyond its sentimental plot.

63

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 15

The fine performances elevate Dan in Real Life beyond its sentimental plot.

audience

70

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

PG-13,

Drama, Romance, Comedy

Pierce Gardner, Peter Hedges

Mar 11, 2008

$47.6M

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Cast

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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.

January 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is his [Carell's] most assured and rounded performance to date.

November 3, 2007 Full Review Source: CNN.com | Comment (1)
CNN.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Now, everybody knows that Steve Carell is lovable.

October 31, 2007 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
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It's a nice film. There's some nice touches to it.

October 29, 2007
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

October 26, 2007 Full Review Source: USA Today | Comment (1)
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A movie nicely packed with pleasantly unpredictable surprises.

October 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A charming, though occasionally off-target -- and consistently tempo-challenged -- romantic comedy.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Times-Picayune
Times-Picayune

The most cloying family meeting since A Very Brady Christmas

August 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comment (1)
CinePassion

Una comedia romántica muy menor, predecible e intrascendente que desaprovecha por completo el talento de un buen elenco. Una lástima.

May 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total
Uruguay Total

What's wrong with Steve Carrell? His is one of the quickest falls from comedy to crap since Chevy Chase.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comments (5)
Boston Phoenix

A creature made of gingerbread and hugs.

March 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central
Film Freak Central

I prefer a little more dysfunction in my dysfunctional family comedies.

August 18, 2008 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | Comments (3)
7M Pictures

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.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review
Sacramento News & Review

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.

July 23, 2008 Full Review Source: Watertown Daily Times
Watertown Daily Times

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.

May 1, 2008 Full Review Source: MSNBC

There's a decent collection of extras here, including a full-length commentary by writer/ director Peter Hedges.

March 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

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.

March 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

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.

March 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Views

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

March 21, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

The plot often falls into contrivance, but the crazy-yet-comfortable chaos of the family reunion setting smoothes it all over...

March 20, 2008 Full Review Source: MSN.com
MSN.com

...ultimately succumbs to an egregious emphasis on inauthentic elements...

March 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment (1)
Reel Film Reviews

Audience Reviews for Dan in Real Life

Dan in Real Life suffers the usual family comedy film with overbearing clichés from many other films that came before it. I thought that this film was a wasted opportunity to make a film that would have great comedic bits, and be overall a fun, entertaining comedy. However, I found myself mostly bored with this, and not laughing all that much. I thought that Steve Carrell, who is usually really funny, was wasted here and that the rest of the cast just didn't cut it. I thought that Dan in Real Life could have been much better than this, and I felt that the jokes could have been better. Steve Carrell, like I said is wasted here, and I don't even know why this film has Dane Cook in it, aside from his role in Waiting, he's not funny as a comedian and actor. The film started with potential, and it was funny at times, but unfortunately, by the final act, everything including the jokes fall apart, and the film ends up being a total waste of time. I think this film could have been better if the screenwriters would have put a bit more effort into the script. After a while, the film becomes predictable, and you know what will happen next. As a viewer, you lose interest and end up not caring what happens next because we've seen it a hundred times before. This comedy leaves a lot to be desired and overall, it's boring, and I just couldn't get into it. I think that this film could have been better, but it was not to be. Not one of Steve Carrell's best.
November 30, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

My predicted rating: 3.5

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.
September 22, 2007
76Majikat

Super Reviewer

    1. Dan Burns: This corn is an angel.
    – Submitted by Chad E (15 months ago)
    1. Cara: You are a murderer of love!
    – Submitted by Elaine S (15 months ago)
    1. Dan Burns: I don't want to go out with the pig... Face.
    – Submitted by Sara B (16 months ago)
    1. Dan Burns: Life... Is full of disappointments.
    – Submitted by Sara B (16 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Como la vida misma (ES)
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