Dan in Real Life

Cast:
Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Emily Blunt & Amy Ryan
Director: Peter Hedges

Advice columnist Dan Burns is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent.
A widower with three daughters, who writes a parenting column for his local newspaper, has his strict rules for behavior tested when he falls for the girlfriend of his younger brother.

Comedy, Drama and Romance, PG-13, 98 min

ATKBO Review

Dan (Steve Carrell) is a writer and answers letters in an advice column only he doesn’t take his own advice when it comes to his real life. He is a widower and caring albeit overprotective father of his three daughters. They are at his parents place for a family get together and are staying a couple of days. One morning Dan heads into town and meets a woman named Maree (Juliette Binoche) in a bookstore which he takes a liken to and manages to get her number only to return to his parents place to meet her there again – as she is his brothers new partner who is also there for the reunion. It seems both Dan and Maree feel awkward around each other in close quarters and despite both having feelings for each other neither is about to cross the line or will they?

Funny man Steve Carrell steps into unfamiliar territory in this somewhat off beat drama mixed with black comedy and romance. Carrell does a great job in type of role reversal compared to his normal characters he plays. The film itself though does feel like its lacking direction, luckily the supporting cast do their part to keep the audience entertained as the film sways off track a fair bit.
There are quite a lot of awkward yet funny moments Carrell excels in but it’s not enough as the final print leaves us cheated with the all too readable subplots as the normal clichés present themselves upon us one by one.

ATKBO Ratings

• = A Bloody Classic!!!
• = Pretty Bloody Good!
• = Fair
• = Dumb
• = Bloody Awful