Dan in Real Life (2007) Buena Vista Pictures
1 hr. 39 mins.
Starring: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Dianne Weist, John Mahoney, Alison Pill, Emily Blunt, Brittany Robertson, Marlene Lawston
Directed by: Peter Hedges
This film is rated: PG-13

Rating: ** 1/2 stars (out of 4 stars)

The overly sentimental romantic comedy Dan in Real Life will definitely get its obvious knocks for being a saccharine-coated showcase about a lonely widower saddled with three petulant daughters while being in professional transition. In fact, every conceivable description for writer-director Peter Hedges's lingering love story would probably apply: wishy-washy, plastic, formulaic, melancholy, mawkish, manipulative and sweet-toothed. Guess what--Hedges's critical detractors would most likely be right in their descriptive assessment. However, Dan in Real Life does also incorporate a sense of emotional structure and genuine earnestness when conveying its sophisticated, soulful panache. Heartwarming, quirky and quietly affecting, Dan in Real Life is refreshingly poignant despite its familiar domestic sitcom delivery.

Hedges ("Pieces of April") and co-screenwriter Pierce Gardner concoct a sincere and sublime examination about familial angst and the underlying pressures about gaining and losing that special love. Truthfully, Dan in Real Life is conventional in its bid for softened wackiness and pained introspection. Still, Hedges's methodical direction and the moody script are cohesively digested courtesy of the tenderized pathos involved. Singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche's creative contribution to the film's soundtrack is rousing in its resonance. The overall package is peppered with an easy-going dosage of reflective schmaltz.

The ubiquitous Steve Carell has been on a roll lately (sans the lame sequel "Evan Almighty"). Carell is presently established as a TV icon thanks to his riotously tranquil turn on the Emmy Award-winning NBC-TV sitcom The Office. As for his supporting movie roles (i.e. "Anchorman", "Bruce Almighty") and leading roles (i.e. "The 40-Year Old Virgin"), Carell has shown a unique resiliency for offbeat roles that can be outlandish or observational and wry (witness his sad sack Proust scholar in the highly heralded Little Miss Sunshine). In Dan, Carell is wisely toned-down as his protagonist requires a slight goofiness that's convincing and appealingly awkward. Certainly, Carell is worthy of Oscar recognition for a tricky portrayal that's risky in its dour-but-dapper mode.

New Jersey-based newspaper advice columnist Dan Burns (Carell) is having a rough time juggling his stillborn print career and tending to the constant needs of his trio of troubled daughters Jane, Cara and Lilly (Allison Pill, Brittany Robertson and Marlene Lawston). Dan is still suffering from inner turmoil regarding the passing of his beloved wife four years earlier. Thus, taking on the responsibility of being a single father without the affection of a supportive woman takes its understandable toll. Nevertheless, Dan goes through the motions of advising his readers but behind the scenes is stuck in a psychological malaise about getting his personal affairs in order. Whether it's 17-year old Jane whining about wanting to drive the car or middle child Cara experiencing hormonal desperation over the latest boy, Dan has his plate full.

The Burnses decide to head up the eastern coast for the annual get-together at the family compound in New England to soak up the atmosphere with extended relatives. Dan's parents (played by Oscar winner Dianne Weist and multiple Emmy-nominated John Mahoney late from NBC-TV's "Frasier") head up the festivities as they are supportive and glad to see their offspring and bunch of grandchildren in tow. They worry about Dan's vulnerable mindset--he has never fully recovered from his late darling wife's passing. Unfortunately for Dan, he faces his siblings and their happiness with their devoted spouses. Dan's single good-looking fitness trainer brother Mitch (comedian Dane Cook) has even found a decent woman despite his womanizing ways from the recent past. Life isn't fair when the roguish Mitch even has the luck to settle down and find that compatible Mrs. Right.

Dan soon ventures out for some needed alone time. He winds up in a cozy little bookshop on the pier when he runs into an attractive brunette named Marie (played by Oscar winner Juliette Binoche). At first Marie mistakes Dan for an employee at the bookshop. They instinctively get to know one another and discuss their personal circumstances over coffee and stimulating conversation. When Dan gets up the nerve to ask Marie for her phone number, she tells him that she is engaged and has an appointment to meet her man's family. This doesn't stop Marie from giving the soft-spoken tongue-tied handsome writer her digits because he is fun and has a curiosity about him that's intriguing. So what harm can this do to keep in touch with Dan Burns, the stranger that made her laugh as the time passed on?

Feeling rejuvenated about Marie and hoping to score some points with her in the immediate future, Dan heads back to the family complex and prematurely tells his folks and siblings about the wonderful girl that he met briefly. They are very elated for Dan and express an interest in meeting up with her at some point in time. In the meanwhile, Mitch announces that his "special lady" has arrived and is begging to show her off. Hmmm...what a surprise! The twist--Mitch's new love interest is the one and only...Marie! So the dilemma remains very potent as Dan and Marie must keep secret their attraction to one another since that don't want to ruin the loving expectations of ex bed-hopper Mitch.

Can Dan stay under the same roof as Marie and shield his sexual urges for his brother's girlfriend? Will Marie fight her connection to Dan no matter how much she falsely tells herself that Mitch is the one and only? Should Mitch find out about Dan and Marie's deceptive attraction, how will the Cain and Abel angle play out in hostility and heartstrings? Plus, will Dan continue to be indirectly vacant when it comes to his deprived girls looking for attention?

Skillfully, Dan in Real Life blossoms because of the fine performances that are solid and substantial. Diehard Carell fans may be a tad bit disappointed in seeing their humbled hero playing a low-key loner whose unfulfilled heart may be deemed hokey. Regardless, Carell has the right amount of surfaced doom and dumbfounding believability to render his plagued characterization as thought-provoking and amusingly flawed. Carell's Dan Burns is a befuddled man in transition and we sympathize with his spongy frustration of wanting a suitable soulmate that's a recommended fit although his "object of affection" is earmarked for his brother's newfound contentment.

The supporting cast is resourcefully realized. Binoche's Marie surprisingly compliments Carell's Dan and registers soundly as the "wounded woman" in the middle whose beauty and affable manner is worth having the two brothers compete for her exquisite hand. She's breezy, approachable and just as conflicted as the men that want to capture her psyche. Both Weist and Mahoney are entertaining as the restrained, sensible parents. Surprisingly, Cook is mighty effective as the former cad Mitch. He plays Mitch with an advisable dash of arrogance and self-absorption. Cook is strangely compelling and disillusioned as much as Dan. Maybe it is because his alter ego Mitch has never known true love in the way he went through countless, faceless chicks like a hot knife though a stick of cold butter? Despite Mitch's misguided penchant for collecting notches on his bedpost, he's really likeable and you feel for him in some regards. At least Dan has had that true great love in his life in the form of the deceased mother of his treasured girls. As for Dan's mini-sized dysfunctional debutantes they are funny and noteworthy in their giddy portrayals. Robertson's Cara--a standout--who hastily and humorously proclaims to a worried Dan "you're a murderer of love!" when he denies her the right to play kissy-poo with her lovelorn boyfriend that traveled many miles to get some much-needed loving is especially notable in her occasional brooding.

Some of the film's moments are stagy, obvious and repetitive. See Dan's spontaneous run-ins with the same no-nonsense small-time local cop. Watch the ducking and dodging of eye contact between Dan and Marie. Cherish the obligatory double-dating scene where Dan has a chance to mingle once again with an ugly duckling-turned-hot-looking-curvaceous-swan admirer as Marie demonstrates her wicked envy. Observe as Dan unknowingly neglects his kids in an effort to win over Marie as an unavoidable obsession. With all this to consider, Dan in Real Life is still a warm, inviting and actively spirited character study of an Everyday man coping with the unpredictable semantics of love and loss.

Frank Ochieng
@ World Voice News (2007)