Dan in Real Life
This is one of those films that’s predictable in a lot of ways- in fact, I find it hard to find an unpredictable moment in it- but completely endearing to an audience thanks to the smart writing and strong performances. As you probably know, Steve Carell plays Dan, a parental advice columnist with three daughters of his own who’s struggling to be a good parent after his wife passed away four years ago. While on an annual retreat with the rest of his family at his parent’s house, he goes into town one day and meets Marie (“The English Patient” Oscar winner Juliette Binoche) in the book store. I wouldn’t say so much that they hit it off, but they do have a connection as Dan, unused to talking to women since his wife died, goes through his life story for her. He’s immediately smitten with her (even though she already is seeing someone), but as always, there’s a catch. Just as he’s telling the guys in his family about her, turns out she’s already going out with his brother Mitch (Dane Cook), making an awkward weekend (his daughters aren’t happy with him for varying reasons) even more awkward.
This is the first film by writer-director Peter Hedges since his underrated “Pieces of April” (with a pre-Cruise Katie Holmes), and if you’ve watched that film, you know you’re in for a sweet, slightly off-kilter family comedy. Granted, this feels more like a major studio romantic comedy than that film ever did (bigger stars, more obvious story), but since it’s both sweetly romantic and humanely funny- kind of important for a romantic comedy- one can hardly find fault in it (although the soundtrack by Sondre Lerche is certainly a big fault, with the songs and score being both unmemorable and unnecessary; it also doesn’t help that though a brisk-moving 98 minutes, it seems to rush to a conclusion and not really solve any of the conflicts it develops along the way).
It does help that Hedges (who wrote the screenplay with Pierce Gardner) has a talented cast to bring the film to life. John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest are the type of good, honest parents you only see in movies; perfect for all intensive purposes, they always seem to have the right advice at the right time. Not to say real parents aren’t good and honest people, but Mahoney and Wiest are the type of parents who don’t have any flaws- that’s what makes them “only in the movies” parents. Carell continues to impress onscreen- “Evan Almighty” excepted, he’s proved adept at bringing seeming one-dimensional characters to life with a fresh blend of humor and heart. He transformed Judd Apatows “40 Year-Old Virgin” Andy- who could’ve been a crude characature in lesser hands- into a romantic hero you genuinely cheer for to get the girl, and in “Little Miss Sunshine,” he worked similar wonders as a gay, suicidal professor whose choices in life earn him sympathy from most, but contempt from his brother-in-law, though they allow him insight into the issues his mute nephew is facing in his life. His performance here doesn’t quite matchup with those two, but his longing for a romantic connection and struggling with the everyday difficulties of life as a single parent are palpable, and come to a head in a note-perfect moment when, during the family’s talent show, he and Mitch (whom Dane Cook plays with his usual swagger, but also true to life in his interactions with Carell) get up and perform “Let My Love Open Your Door.” The song is intended to be Mitch’s ballad for Marie, but Dan’s confliicted feelings for her are what make it memorable as they pour out in his performance. It’s one of those moments I cherish in movies, and a turning point in the film.
As the object of Dan and Mitch’s affections (at least before a blind double date with a girl from their youth- played by “The Devil Wears Prada’s” scene-stealer Emily Blunt), Binoche makes one wonder where she’s been all this time- it seems like a while since we’ve seen her onscreen in a major role, and it made me wish I’d seen her more often. (And if you know my opinion of “Chocolat,” you’ll know that’s not something I’d expect to say.) She clearly enjoys being around Mitch, but she clearly feels more of a bond with Dan, and Binoche plays both conflicting feelings perfectly; Dan’s bad luck in the scenario is simply that Mitch met her first. Like Catherine Keener was in “40 Year-Old Virgin,” Binoche is an actress who seems over-qualified for the material, but is perfectly cast for the character she’s playing. The main complaint I can muster with her character is that we don’t learn as much about her past as we did about Keener’s. Not that it’ll matter; we learn enough to know that by the end of this movie, her and Dan deserve to be together. That the movie’s more than happy to give us that is a detriment I suppose, but it allows you to leave the movie wholly satisfied in the end, and for that, you can’t really criticize it.
