Dan in Real Life is a step in the right direction for leading man, Steve Carell (NBC’s The Office). After the ‘Almighty’ flop earlier this summer, Carell is proving his resilience with a warm, honest movie about love, family dynamics and life’s upsets.

He plays the part of a single father with three teen and younger girls. He’s a successful newspaper columnist, but four years removed from losing his wife to illness, he finds himself trying to hold on too tightly to his “little” girls and struggling with loneliness.

Carell is complimented by a cast of recognizable faces and a charming counterpart, Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, The English Patient). John Mahoney of Frasier fame plays his father (it’s always good to see him playing anybody’s dad) and his antagonist brother is Dane Cook (star of Good Luck Chuck).

While Dan in Real Life does not break any new cinematic or literary ground, it delivers a sincere story of a loving family helping someone through a tough situation. The film does have a few romantic comedy clichés (i.e. heart-wrenching moments in the rain or ‘beautiful girl’ leaves ‘hunky guy’ for ‘sensitive man’) but the comedic moments and Carell’s fresh take on being the ‘sensitive man’ make it worthwhile. The film also benefits greatly by an original soundtrack provided by Norwegian singer/songwriter, Sondre Lerche.

The acting is good,
the cast has chemistry,
and the music is great.

An excellent date movie.

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