Carrell makes play for brother's gal in 'Dan in Real Life'
After playing a reluctant modern-age Noah in the frivolous and silly "Evan Almighty," Steve Carell bounces back with a pleasantly surprising romantic comedy and a flawed character almost too grating to be likable. But not quite.
He plays Dan Burns, a newspaper advice columnist who writes about relationships and happiness. In his personal life, single dad Dan could use his own advice while raising three daughters after the death of his wife.
Little fourth-grader Lily (Marlene Lawston) cuts her distracted, uptight father a lot of slack. The older Cara (Brittany Robertson) doesn't, especially when it comes to Dad protecting her from boys. Teenager Jane (Alison Pill) wants to drive a car, but Dad won't let her.
Under protest, Dan brings the girls to his parents' rustic Rhode Island beach house where Poppy (Chicago's own John Mahoney) and Nana (Dianne Wiest) host their annual family get-together with Dan's siblings, including big bro Mitch (Dane Cook, in non-abrasive mode).
Dispatched to buy a newspaper at the local bookstore, Dan runs into a woman. Marie (played by the ebullient Juliette Binoche) and Dan hit it off in an understated, charming meet-cute.
Dan wants to see her again. He does, much sooner than he thinks. Back at the house, brother Mitch introduces his new girlfriend to the family. Yep. She's Marie.
Where most romantic comedies would milk this set-up for cheap laughs, "Dan in Real Life" allows the humor to seep out of the guilt suffered by Marie and Dan, concerned with not hurting Mitch's feelings, yet unable to control their own.
Under pressure, Dan becomes a real emo mess, quietly lashing out at his family members, who take it just so long before their patience wears thin. It doesn't help that Dan is anxiously waiting to see if a syndication service will distribute his column in American newspapers. (Does Dan even know how bad the newspaper market is?)
Unlike his edgy, itchy 2003 directorial debut "Pieces of April," director/co-writer Peter Hedges' "Dan in Real Life" works as a more conventional romantic comedy that dangerously approaches a sitcom mentality.
Hedges wrings strained laughs out of several scenes, including poor Dan being forced to sleep in a room with a noisy clothes dryer that keeps him awake. (Hey, Dan, just turn it off!)
Another contrived moment has Dan hiding from his daughter in the shower stall while Marie, to avert suspicion, is forced to shower naked in front of him as he tries to hide his eyes. (Hey, Dan, just turn around!)
"Dan in Real Life" feels overstuffed with original songs by Sondre Lerche, almost as if Hedges felt compelled to use them during every transitional scene.
Still, Hedges' romance dodges most of the genre cliches and winds up with a modestly endearing comedy that attests to the need for forgiveness -- even in families of advice columnists.
Media note: TV commercials for "Dan" include footage and jokes not included in this film, so caveat emptor. Can you say bait and switch?
"Dan in Real Life"
3 stars out of 4
Opens today
Starring
Steve Carell as Dan Burns
Juliette Binoche as Marie
Dane Cook as Mitch
Dianne Wiest as Nana
John Mahoney as Poppy
Written by Peter Hedges and Pierce Gardner. Produced by Jon Shestack and Brad Epstein. Directed by Peter Hedges. A Walt Disney Pictures release. Rated PG-13 (sexual innuendo). Running time: 98 minutes.