Like everyone else who has seen this movie, my sole motivation was to see Steve Carell. I simply think that he is the funniest actor out there today, and will thus be excited to see anything that he is in. Not surprisingly, I am also a big fan of the TV Show, The Office.
I was surprised, however, at the feel and style of this movie. It is funny, but with a different style of humor that contrasts with other works of Carell's and with other comedies in general. The film is full of many surprises, and such surprises are at the core of the film's message. The film in fact closes with Carell's character, Dan, writing in a newly syndicated column that when we are doing all of our careful planning in life, that we should plan on being surprised.
As comedies go, Dan in Real Life, is not one in which we leave the theater sore from laughing so hard throughout (as I so clearly remember from other movies such as Austin Powers or Meet the Parents). On the other hand, this movie has an authenticity to it, making one imagine that this really could have played out in real life, as the title suggests. Certainly none of those side-splitting comedies can boast of such realism. I felt that I was a part of this family. My family, in fact, often rents a cabin for a weekend each winter. We look forward to the excursion and look back fondly upon all of the memories associated with that place.
Dan (Carell) is a columnist who writes on parenting issues and who is a single parent of three girls ranging from a fourth-grader to a sixteen year old. The movie starts out with them heading to a cabin as part of a vacation with their extended family who includes an awesome cast (Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney are Dan's parents, Dane Cook and Norbert Leo Butz are his brothers, and a whole host of others fill up the cabin with varying ages and personalities).
Before things really get started, Dan takes a break after checking in to go to a bookstore. It is there that he meets a beautiful woman (Juliette Binoche) with whom he winds up spending much of the afternoon. They part, awkwardly, and he is smitten with infatuation. He does have her phone number, but also knows that she is in a relationship. At his return to the cabin he is greeted with many questions and then much teasing as he recounts his encounter. However, when his brother, Mitch, introduces his new girlfriend, Marie, to the family, Dan is shocked to discover that she is the same woman with whom he spent the afternoon. The stage is now set for what is sure to be a complicated family getaway.
This movie is quirky. One example of some great quirky humor involves Dan's middle daughter, Cara (Brittany Robertson). She is such a drama queen when it comes to her new boyfriend, with whom she has such tearful and cheesy goodbyes. And Dan gets into so many awkward situations that you really feel for this guy. For that matter, you feel for Marie. Carell and Binoche have great chemistry on screen and this makes the movie work. It did get a little sappy for my taste, but I'm sure you women out there will love it! The film is rated PG-13, but as many of you know, the ratings system is so broad. I would allow my 12-year-old to see it, if she wished. There isn't any foul language that I can remember, and just a bit of innuendo.
Overall, I'd say that it is worth the price of admission. It is both funny and touching. I can't think of anything else out there nowadays that I'm even remotely interested in seeing.
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