Gil Riego Jr.
With a cast that gives you that wanting desire to be a part of their family, Peter Hedges’ “Dan in Real Life” gives comedy something to be proud of this season.I walked into the theater wondering what to expect. The previews and trailers never gave much detail, but what I was expecting was something funny.Probably something funny, “ha-ha.”Maybe something funny, “silly.”What I was not expecting was to find something humanly funny. That will make more sense when you watch this movie.This movie brings you into the life of advice columnist Dan Burns (Steve Carell) and his morning routine of waking up, writing his column, doing laundry and making breakfast for his kids. I was immediately pulled into the everyday humanity this film had.You meet his children from his wife that died four years prior; his oldest, 17-year-old Jane (Alison Pill), who is anxious to get behind the wheel but is constantly denied by her father; the middle child, 14-year-old Cara (Brittany Robertson), is a pretty but a rebellious teen “in love” with a boy from school, who Dan refuses to allow her to see; and his youngest, 9-year-old Lilly (Marlene Lawston), who is a lot smarter than Dan gives her credit for.At breakfast, Dan tells his girls that they are all going to his parents’ house in Rhode Island for a family reunion.From this point, I expected that the film would probably involve wacky activities where people get lost, balls are thrown into groins or maybe even some underage drug use.Surprisingly, it did not. I was pulled into a normal family, experiencing a normal time.I expected some sort of hatred between Dan and any of his other family members. I was surprised that everything was normal.Everything seemed regular until his parents tell him to go to a bookstore to get a couple of newspapers for their competition of which gender of the family could comlete the crossword puzzle the fastest.While there, he meets a woman named Marie (Juliette Binoche) and they spend an extended amount of time together and seem to be hitting it off, until a new man she is dating calls her asking where she is. She gives Dan her number and drives off.Now I expected the film to turn into how Dan could be with marie and how he could leave and chase her.I was surprised again, when Dan sees Marie at his parents’ house, on the arm of his brother Mitch (Dane Cook). Then the “boy-meets-girl” situation gets interesting where Dan now must choose between his family and his heart.”Dan in Real Life” brings a genuine feel of humanity to you in this romantic comedy with its easy-going soundtrack, quirky yet smart characters.This is a great movie to watch with a friend, or even alone. It does not fall into the classification of a “chick-flick” nor does it fall into a “slapstick” comedy, which is very refreshing.It is a fantastic escape into the life of another normal human being. Plan to go into this film expecting something brilliant. Also, plan for the unexpected. Grade: A