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

4 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 Priest Miller	...	Will (as Henry Miller)
Ella Miller	...	Rachel
CJ Adams	...	Elliot (as Cameron 'CJ' Adams)

Storyline

Single father Dan Burns 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.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage girl | game | young girl | gymnasium | new york city | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Improvisation was encouraged during filming. One such case was the line: "This corn is like an angel." Allison Pill's (Jane) stoic expression turns into a failed attempt to hold back a grin. The outtakes show that the entire cast soon burst out laughing.

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Goofs

At the end the family is seen driving back from New England to New York City. Their car travels west over the Queensboro Bridge from Queens into Manhattan. It makes very little sense to enter Queens when coming from New England if traveling into Manhattan. The Triboro Bridge (now called the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge) from the Bronx to Queens can also be taken to Manhattan. Entering Queens would make the trip longer and cost an extra toll.

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Quotes

Dan Burns: Life... is full of disappointments

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: American Gangster/Music Within/Before the Devil Knows You're Dead/Dan in Real Life/Control (2007)

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Soundtracks

I'll Be OK
(2007)
Written, Produced and Performed by Sondre Lerche
Courtesy of EMI/Astralwerks Records

User Reviews

Not massively original, but it is entertaining

Steve Carell plays Dan Burns, newspaper agony uncle and dedicated single father to three girls. At a large family homecoming Dan meets his perfect woman, only to find out that she is in a relationship with his brother.

What's a man to do?

I rather liked "Dan In Real Life", but I would imagine the success or otherwise of this flick is going to be down to whether you are willing to accept Steve Carell playing a part relatively straight and restrained, rather than going through the broad comedy moves that have made him so successful. If you cannot accept it, fear not, "Get Smart" will be along later in the year, but for the record I thought he was very good.

"Dan In Real Life" starts off like your typical, incidentally amusing, family drama, but it gets funnier and funnier as it goes along and Carell's frustration with his situation grows. It's not massively original (but if you only saw movies with original ideas, cinematic pickings would be very scarce indeed, wouldn't they?), but "Dan In Real Life" is entertaining, and a good cast (who wouldn't fall in love at first sight with the luminous Juliette Binoche?) make the most of an insightful enough script that contains many a ponder on the meaning and passion of love.

I hope that Steve Carell pushes himself and does something as interesting again.

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dan in Real Life

Filming Locations:

Westerly, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,809,445, 28 October 2007

Gross USA:

$47,642,963

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,474,305

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