I have seen a lot of movies in my life, and I can say without reservation that "Dan In Real Life" is the worst movie I've ever seen.
I love romantic comedies, but "Dan" is neither romantic nor funny. There are no gags written into the script; laughs are supposed to come because of the foibles of the characters. The problem is that to laugh at someone's foibles, you need to feel some empathy for them, and the main characters in "Dan" are entirely unlikable.
Marie (Juliette Binoche) has "fallen in love" with two men in three days, and she doesn't seem to care which one she ends up with or whom she hurts. But she is charming compared to Dan (Steve Carell).
When Dan and Marie first meet they go for coffee, and Dan takes the opportunity to spend an hour talking animatedly about himself. Marie is unable to get in a word. Maybe that was supposed to be funny, but I know quite a few people like that, and they are generally neither funny nor particularly likable.
Dan certainly doesn't improve. Time after time he demonstrates that he is immature and self-centered. Twice he drives through stop signs without even slowing down. Maybe that's supposed to be funny, too, but a lot of people have died because of that kind of driving. Later Dan jumps in his car in a fog of emotion and backs the car into a police vehicle. Another laugh riot. At least he didn't back over a child.
At the end of the film, Dan has some parenting responsibility, but, true to form, he can't stop thinking about himself long enough to take care of it. Instead, his children have to take care of him.
The only enjoyment I got out of the entire movie was seeing that Dan and Marie were eventually married. It was delightful to imagine the misery they would surely be causing each other when the infatuation wears off.
I love romantic comedies, but "Dan" is neither romantic nor funny. There are no gags written into the script; laughs are supposed to come because of the foibles of the characters. The problem is that to laugh at someone's foibles, you need to feel some empathy for them, and the main characters in "Dan" are entirely unlikable.
Marie (Juliette Binoche) has "fallen in love" with two men in three days, and she doesn't seem to care which one she ends up with or whom she hurts. But she is charming compared to Dan (Steve Carell).
When Dan and Marie first meet they go for coffee, and Dan takes the opportunity to spend an hour talking animatedly about himself. Marie is unable to get in a word. Maybe that was supposed to be funny, but I know quite a few people like that, and they are generally neither funny nor particularly likable.
Dan certainly doesn't improve. Time after time he demonstrates that he is immature and self-centered. Twice he drives through stop signs without even slowing down. Maybe that's supposed to be funny, too, but a lot of people have died because of that kind of driving. Later Dan jumps in his car in a fog of emotion and backs the car into a police vehicle. Another laugh riot. At least he didn't back over a child.
At the end of the film, Dan has some parenting responsibility, but, true to form, he can't stop thinking about himself long enough to take care of it. Instead, his children have to take care of him.
The only enjoyment I got out of the entire movie was seeing that Dan and Marie were eventually married. It was delightful to imagine the misery they would surely be causing each other when the infatuation wears off.