Dan In Real Life Review

In his career, Dan Burns has become respected as an advice columnist for an East Coast newspaper. He's also in line for a syndication deal to make him more widely known. In Dan In Real Life, Dan (Steve Carell) watches almost helplessly as his own family repeatedly disregards his advice. Sometimes, he's guilty of not setting a good example, even though his columns offer common sense solutions to personal dilemmas. The widowed Dan and his three daughters, Jane (Alison Pill), Cara (Tiffany Robertson), and Lilly (Marlene Lawston), are often at odds with their father over the things they want to do, like driving, dating, or having more time with him. He has become immersed in being a single parent, which often has more struggle than reward, as Dan tries to maintain control and authority in his house full of young ladies. A weekend respite at the Rhode Island home of Dan's parents (Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney) seems to be in order.

Real life continues to be intrusive, though. While at a used book store, Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche), a charming woman who Dan learns is involved with somebody. After he returns to his parents' house, Marie arrives, and Dan's brother, Mitch (Dane Cook), introduces his new girlfriend to the family. Marie becomes an instant hit with the family with her tales of travel and her fluency in many languages. The weekend is filled with one family activity after another. At one point, Mitch and Marie accompany Dan on a date with Ruthie Draper (Emily Blunt), a childhood family friend who grew up to become a doctor. Even the syndicate who is thinking about hiring Dan agrees to come to town to conduct their interview there. The more Dan and Marie try to put their initial encounter out of their minds, the more the Burns family takes notice of Dan's overly friendly behavior toward Marie. They want to talk privately, realizing their moment was more than just a moment. However, nobody ever gives anybody else much privacy during the visit. Eventually, Marie must decide what she wants for herself.

The quality that makes Dan In Real Life tick is the chemistry between Carell and Binoche's characters. Dan and Marie seek knowledge, and love to share what they have learned with others. When they first meet, Dan shows Marie more of an intellect than the fun-loving Mitch ever has. Dan shows both charm and smarts when he Marie are in the book store, and he lets the charm shine when he and Marie later sneak away to a bowling alley. This is a nice change of pace for Carell, who plays a clueless boss on TV's The Office. He's clueless in a much more endearing way here. Binoche, who won an Oscar for her work in The English Patient, is a woman of great sweetness and smarts who finds herself in the unenviable position of being in the middle of two brothers vying for her affection. Director and co-writer Peter Hedges, whose writing also includes the novel and the screenplay adaptation of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, tries to make the love triangle in this story seem complicated, but there's really little that's complicated with it. Hedges telegraphs every move in this film, leaving little that is unpredictable.

The story is also a bit overcrowded. If Hedges had included more people in this story, Dan and Marie might have felt the need to find themselves another movie. Hedges fills this movie with all sorts of siblings, in-laws, and children, but most of these characters are never developed, save for Mitch. Norbert Leo Butz, Jessica Hecht, and Amy Ryan play Dan and Mitch's siblings, but they barely get any screen time, except for reactions and for establishing that they are members of Dan's family. Mahoney, Wiest, and Blunt make the most of their brief screen time, and play pivotal roles in the weekend's outcome. Cook is adequate in his role, but unlike Carell, Cook seems more comfortable on a live stage than on the big screen.

Dan In Real Life is a good cinematic interpretation of the adage, "The family that plays together, stays together." Feelings are hurt during this play, but in this family, they also find a place for understanding and forgiveness. Dan and Marie show that anyone can be overwhelmed by the Burns family, but they also show that there's no way of knowing when a lasting connection will be made. Dan Burns may have found his journalistic niche in giving his readers advice, but he's also given a reminder or two about life when he is not meeting a deadline.

Giving advice is easier said than done.

Portions of this review first appeared on Epinions in November 2007.