Film Review

08 January 2009 22:10 BST

Dan In Real Life

Directed by Peter Hedges, out January 11th, in cinemas, starring Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Emily Blunt, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, running time 99 minutes.

In a nutshell…

Life is full of surprises.

What's it all about?

When widowed father-of-three Dan Burns (Carell) travels to Rhode Island for the family's annual fall gathering, little does he know that a life-changing weekend awaits. After running into the attractive Marie (Binoche) in a seaside bookstore, Dan feels sparks exploding for the first time since the death of his wife - only to have his hopes extinguished when he discovers Marie is the new girlfriend of his younger brother Mitch (Cook). Struggling with raising wilful teenage daughters, the well-intentioned rescue efforts of his family members and the conflict between his feelings for Marie and his strong moral compass, Dan finds that his day job as an advice columnist never prepared him for his own problems.

Who's in it?

40-Year-Old Virgin Carell makes a confident bid for the title of most likeable actor in Hollywood with a nuanced turn here, deftly switching between the physical comedy used to great effect in Frat Pack movies and soulful depths that remain surprising from a comedy star, despite his sensitive performance in Little Miss Sunshine.

It's only fair to expect great things from Oscar-winner Binoche and she delivers with a sympathetic performance while Dane Cook emerges from the mystifying scale of his stand-up success and charmless performances in Employee of the Month and Good Luck Chuck to show a beating heart beneath that cold-eyed facade.

Veterans John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest are good value as ever and though it's almost unjust to single out any of the young actresses playing Dan's three daughters, little Marlene Lawston makes a bid to knock Dakota Fanning off the top of the wise-beyond-her-years actress tree.

As an example…

"If you don't let me, I'll never learn." - Jane
"If I let you, you may not live." - Dan

"You're a good father but sometimes a bad dad." - Lilly
"Who told you to say that?!" - Dan

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars?

It's too much of a comedy to be fairly considered by the Academy but Carell's performance could grab some nominations and Hedges' and Gardiner's script fizzes with life. Sondre Lerche's soundtrack is winningly autumnal as well.

What the others say

"The plot tickles sitcom, but the film is a winner because Carell and Binoche follow Hedges' lead and keep it real. Sharing their company really is a pleasure." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"A small but sweetly formed comedy of romantic misfortune that can’t quite keep Hollywood at bay." - Ian Nathan, Empire

So is it any good?

Very much so. It's rare for a comedy with such an inherently farcical premise to be handled so delicately, and while it's certainly a consistently funny film, it remains wonderfully human. While the family's overwhelming functionality should be sickening, they remain so loveable that only the most determined of cynics could fail to be drawn in. With Carell and Binoche manufacturing a very authentic chemistry - it's also pleasing to see a romantic comedy with leads of their age - it's a movie that could easily have come from the pen of Alexander Payne or the Farrelly Brothers but feels all the better for its combination of the two styles.

While the ending feels tacked on at the studio's behest, rather than adhering to the movie's resolutely indie feel, it's a price worth paying for a film that manages to find humour and heart in a horribly real situation.

8/10

Lewis Bazley

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