Dan in Real Life
2007 Directed by Peter Hedges
Synopsis
Something's happening to Dan. It's confusing. It's awkward. It's family.
Advice columnist Dan Burns (Carell) is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent to three precocious daughters. Things get even more complicated when Dan finds out that the woman he falls in love with is actually his brother's new girlfriend.
Cast
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Dan In Real Life is an incredibly heartfelt family drama; they may not be the most realistic of families, but they bring to light some relatable problems and relationships. The relationship between Dan and his daughters is especially moving, with Steve Carell doing what he does best when he is given a real character. He makes you laugh and he makes you cry, completely absorbing you in to his situation and engaging you with his wit, awkwardness, and personal realisations.
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I saw the reviews for this when it came out and gutted I missed it. I've often picked it up in HMV but always put it down again. This came through the post and I watched it today. I loved it.
This is a truly lovely film. Real. Personable. Honest. Some amazing acting and writing. The actors inhibit their roles perfectly. Steve Carrell is amazing in the lead role of Dan. You feel the characters drive, pain and loneliness and he blows me away in this film. I've never seen him in this light before yet every part of him seemed real in this film. He was the widower father of three girls. The connection between him and Binoche must…
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The whitest family in the world get together and tackle their banal first-world problems. Occasional a chirpy, quirky trombone soundtrack pipes in. Just awful.
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This is one of those movies where you get horrible second-hand embarrassment from the characters. I felt uncomfortable the whole time as I watched Steve Carrel make an ass of himself. I just can't stand excessively pathetic characters.
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Dan In Real Life tackles the life of its titular protagonist in a way that so few movies managed to their own. Dan, played by a never better Steve Carell, is essentially hated by his daughters. The two oldest of the three see him as a ‘freak’ and when he stops one from seeing their ‘true love’, he is declared a ‘murderer of love’. Dan In Real Life could easily be defined as an analysis of a decaying soul and the painful process, but there’s as much interior to it as there is exterior. Dan is widowed and lonely, until he meets Marie, played by the irresistible beauty of Juliette Binoche, and his life suddenly blossoms. Soon enough after Marie’s…
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Steve Carrell is much more funny when he is being a real character. This is a run of the mill family rom-com that is charming and actually funny. I could see where folks wouldn't like a film like this but I think it is pretty good, and I think Carrell is very good at his awkward parenting skills. The family interaction is not as good as say, The Family Stone, another family rom com I enjoy but this is a good heartfelt drama.
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Mind-numbing pap made semi-palatable by Steve Carell's likability. Also, are there really families who gather together on the front lawn for group yoga? If so, I don't want to meet them.
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what the fuck did I just watch? Not a single laugh the entire movie
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If Dan in Real Life is contemplating on life, I'm not "surprised" as the ending narration suggests. Dan is on a vacation in a seaside cabin with a relatively ideal family and relatives who like to talk and enjoy themselves. Dan has everything that a solid, "average" and humane American man wants, but he is still lost, as his mother tells him that he needs to "get lost". He is making himself lonely in an idealistic background, partly understandably since he is a sentimental widower, but that's no excuse and such "set-up" is rather an aristocratic attitude of "planning" one's life. However, there are also many good stories concerning the middle-upper class crisis and failed relationships. Then, why, is this…
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One of the better "serious" acting movies with Steve!
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I saw the reviews for this when it came out and gutted I missed it. I've often picked it up in HMV but always put it down again. This came through the post and I watched it today. I loved it.
This is a truly lovely film. Real. Personable. Honest. Some amazing acting and writing. The actors inhibit their roles perfectly. Steve Carrell is amazing in the lead role of Dan. You feel the characters drive, pain and loneliness and he blows me away in this film. I've never seen him in this light before yet every part of him seemed real in this film. He was the widower father of three girls. The connection between him and Binoche must…
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Dan In Real Life is an incredibly heartfelt family drama; they may not be the most realistic of families, but they bring to light some relatable problems and relationships. The relationship between Dan and his daughters is especially moving, with Steve Carell doing what he does best when he is given a real character. He makes you laugh and he makes you cry, completely absorbing you in to his situation and engaging you with his wit, awkwardness, and personal realisations.
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Mit “Dan – Mitten im Leben!” ist Regisseur Peter Hedges nach seinem Regiedebut “Pieces in April” ein weiteres filmisches Highlight gelungen. Mit viel Fingerspitzengefühl erzählt er die Geschichte um die tragische Figur Dan und seine verbotene Liebe ohne dabei zu sehr auf die Tränendrüse zu drücken und ohne einen zu derben Humor an den Tag zu legen.
Doch nicht nur die Geschichte des Films überzeugt. Auch die Schauspieler glänzen. Gerade Steve Carell (Evan Allmächtig, Get Smart), der vielen eher aus brachialeren Komödien bekannt sein dürfte, beweist hier, dass er den ruhigen Humor souverän beherrscht. Carrell verleiht seiner Figur wirklich Charakter und spielt in rundum sympathisch.
Auch Dans “neue” Filmliebe Marie wird von einer tollen Darstellerin verkörpert: Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, Three…
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Dan In Real Life tackles the life of its titular protagonist in a way that so few movies managed to their own. Dan, played by a never better Steve Carell, is essentially hated by his daughters. The two oldest of the three see him as a ‘freak’ and when he stops one from seeing their ‘true love’, he is declared a ‘murderer of love’. Dan In Real Life could easily be defined as an analysis of a decaying soul and the painful process, but there’s as much interior to it as there is exterior. Dan is widowed and lonely, until he meets Marie, played by the irresistible beauty of Juliette Binoche, and his life suddenly blossoms. Soon enough after Marie’s…
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I really love this movie. It has one of those families that, at times, makes you wonder if people like this really exist. But I find all of the characters to be very real, flaws and all, and it takes me no time at all to be sucked into their world. Steve Carell is so wonderful when he's not going for slapstick. This is one if those movies that I could watch again and again.