Joe Barber Reviews “Dan In Real Life”
by Joe Barber on Oct.29, 2007, under Joe Barber's Movie Reviews
Steve Carell has his fans. The success of “The 40 Year Old Virgin” at the movies and the American version of “The Office” on NBC television attest to that fact. While I’ve been occassionally amused by both productions, I was more impressed by Carell’s work as the gay professor attempting to recover from his suicide attempt in “Little Miss Sunshine.” There was a freshness and depth to his work there that stayed with me longer than the simplistic giggles of the earlier film and the TV show. Carell has just returned to the big screen with “Dan In Real Life” and, despite some kinks in the script, his performance shines through with sincerity.
Carell is Dan Burns, an advice columnist for a newspaper. While he’s great at giving advice to others about their personal problems, his own lofe’s a mess. Widdowed three years earlier, Dan can’t seem to relate to his three daughters on any topic. Despite the fact they’re all adults, Dan and his brothers and sister still get into childish skermishes. Their mother and father (Diane Weist and John Mahoney) are the kind of parents who are never quite able to let their kids grow up and become their own persons.
When Dan brings everyone together for some family quality time, he gets blindsided by fate. While out on an errand, he meets the beautiful and charming Marie (Juliette Binoche.) The two start a conversation that lasts for hours and leaves Dan with the first stirrings of real emotion since his wife’s death. Returning to the family, he is stunned to be introduced to his brother Mitch’s (Dane Cook) new girlfriend-Marie. A weekend full of guilt, complications, stolen moments and revelations take eveyone in some surprising directions before the finale.
Despite the television ads that have positioned “Dan” as a comedy, what director Peter Hedges and his co-screenwriter Peirce Gardener have deliverd is a drama with laughs in selected places. Much like the rected Diane Keaton/Sarah Jessic Parker film “The Family Stone,” the movie’s major theme is the dynamics of family interaction and how they affect each member. While the filmmakers indulge in spotlighting the eccentricities of the family members, a genuine affection also comes forth.
Though the laughs aren’t always hearty enough to balance some of the film’s clumsier plot twist, what does work is the subltety of Steve Carell’s performance. His Dan is a decent, caring guy struggling to find his way in dealing with those he loves. He does a fine job of gaining the audience’s empathy and affection without gimmicks or cheap laughs. Binoche once again shows why she is one of the world’s most popular leading ladies. Her Marie is a flesh and blood woman, not a stick igure used as a device for cheap laughs or sex jokes.
“Dan In Real Life” offers real fun and touching moments for those who go to see it. Carell fans who only know his geeky side should be prepared for a pleasent surprise. Everyone else get ready for a good time.
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
JOE’S RATING: THREE STARS.
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