Directors: Peter Hedges
Starring: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated: Rated PG-13 for some innuendo
Plot: Dan Burns is a widower with three daughters and a parental advice column. He has dedicated his life to them since his wife passed but, all of that is about to change. On vacation with his family he meets the woman of his dreams, Marie. After returning to the house, he meets her again when his brother introduces his girlfriend to the family, Marie. over the next three days, Dan learns a lot about love, a lot about himself, and a lot about life.

My Review: Dan in Real Life was the other movie I caught this weekend. I have always been a big fan of Steve Carell but, I will admit that I wasn’t originally that excited to see Dan in Real Life. Most of Carell’s movies are flat out comedies like Evan Almighty. This one seemed to be a little heavier. I’m going to spoil my review now by telling you I was delightfully surprised. In fact I would go so far as to say loved this movie. Steve Carell really showed himself to be much more than a comic actor. That’s not to say there were not some hilarious moments in the movie but, Carell demonstrated that he can be way more than Michael Scott from The Office. One or two more movies like this and Little Miss Sunshine and Carell might have to be classified as a serious bona fide actor.

Dane Cook also did a great job in this film. He played, Mitch Burns (Dan’s brother) so well, that I forget he was Dane Cook. That to me is one of the marks of a great actor. I’m not a huge fan of Cook’s and I kept waiting for a part in the film where he breaks character and does something really funny but it never happened.

The movie was very well written and well acted. I would highly recommend this movie. Dan in Real Life is a great date movie. The guys will love the funny parts while the ladies will tear up at the touching moments when love and real life intrude on Dan Burns’ world. Catch it in the theater if you can or on Netflix if you can’t.

Rating: 5/5 stars
High Point: All of it
Low Point: Can you say, Awkward? Some very uncomfortable (yet funny) moments in the film

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