Dan in Real Life (2007)

A widower finds out the woman he fell in love with is his brother's girlfriend.

Director:

Peter Hedges

Writers:

Pierce Gardner, Peter Hedges

Stars:

Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Carell	...	Dan
Juliette Binoche	...	Marie
Dane Cook	...	Mitch
Alison Pill	...	Jane
Britt Robertson	...	Cara (as Brittany Robertson)
Marlene Lawston	...	Lilly
Dianne Wiest	...	Nana
John Mahoney	...	Poppy
Norbert Leo Butz	...	Clay
Amy Ryan	...	Eileen
Jessica Hecht	...	Amy
Frank Wood	...	Howard
Henry Miller	...	Will
Ella Miller	...	Rachel
CJ Adams	...	Elliot (as Cameron 'CJ' Adams)

Storyline

Dan Burns is a single father who dedicates his life to his children, but one day he meets Marie at a bookstore. They get to know each other, but then Dan finds out that Marie is actually dating his brother, Mitch Burns.

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Plot Keywords:

love | bookstore | widower | rhode island | advice columnist | 

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Taglines:

Something's happening to Dan. It's confusing. It's awkward. It's family.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [fr] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Como la vida misma

Filming Locations:

Jamestown, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£603,860 (UK) (11 January 2008)

Gross:

$47,636,541 (USA) (8 February 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Focus Features, Jon Shestack Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS (as dts) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was filmed in an actual house in Rhode Island, where the cast spent a great deal of time bonding and rehearsing before filming began.

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Goofs

Dan's car, a Mercedes 300 turbo diesel, is shown filling up at an unleaded gas pump.

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Quotes

Marie: You don't have to smile.
Dan Burns: It's better than the alternative.

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Connections

References Bonanza (1959)

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Soundtracks

"To Be Surprised"
(2007)
Written, Produced and Performed by Sondre Lerche
Mixed by Kato Ådland
Courtesy of EMI/Astralwerks Records

User Reviews

A well-made, sweet movie!

I saw a special advance screening of this today. I have to let you know, I'm not a huge fan of either Dane Cook or Steve Carell, so I really had no expectations going into this. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

Dan in Real Life is the story of a widower with 3 daughters who goes to spend a weekend with his family. While at a bookstore, he meets the woman of his dreams, only to find out that she happens to be his brother's girlfriend.

This movie is pretty well made- the soundtrack, cinematography, and acting are all top-notch, especially Steve Carell. My problem with it was mostly that there seemed to be a lack of character development, mostly with Dane Cook's character. We never really get a close look at the relationship between Dane and Steve's characters, and I felt that it could have helped a bit in showing what Dan's inner conflict about being in love with Dane's girlfriend was like. Other than this though, Dan in Real Life is definitely a solid, sweet film- definitely a nice break from all the horror and action movies we've been getting this year.