It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Blistering performances.

Peter Hedges gives us a movie about a guy named Dan, who have a reunion with his family... I really can't remember the movie that much, and I saw it a FEW DAYS AGO!! I thought the movie was still very good, the acting were promising, the country music was decent, the setting worked very well, and the plot was very good, I give this movie a 8.5 out of 10.

Steve Carell's Jack Lemmon-esque everyman quality has never been utilized to greater advantage than in the 2007 comedy Dan in Real Life, a warm family comedy that provides smiles, giggles, roll on the floor laughter, and a possible lump in the throat.Carell is just wonderful as Dan Burns, a widower with three daughters who, shortly after arriving at his parents' mountain cabin for a family reunion/weekend, is enchanted by a woman (Juliette Binoche) he talks to for ten minutes in a bookstore. Dan is on cloud nine until he learns the woman is dating his brother, Mitch (Dane Cook).Director and co-writer Peter Hedges establishes the kind of guy Dan is from the opening scene where we see him still sleeping on his side of the bed and taking excellent care of his girls. Sympathy is immediately evoked for Dan as he fights his attraction to the woman, but can't. The story takes an odd turn when Dan's parents arrange a blind date for him and Mitch's girlfriend is clearly jealous.Hedges' direction is spirited and Carell is backed by a wonderful supporting cast led by John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest as Dan's parents...two very classy people whose love for their son keeps them from coming right out and letting him know when he's screwing up. Dane Cook, who I usually can't stand, is almost likable as Mitch. Leo Norbert Butz has some funny moments as Dan's other brother, as does Emily Blunt as Dan's blind date. Also loved Brittany Robertson as Dan's middle daughter, Cara.The film's primary faux pas is the casting of Oscar winner Juliette Binoche as the object of Dan's affections. Light comedy is just not Binoche's long suit and her performance is just as annoying as her character becomes when she sees Dan with another woman. Not to mention the fact that the on screen chemistry between Carell and Binoche was nonexistent.Lovely cinematography and a lilting song score by Sondre Lerche help, but it is the casting of Binoche that keeps this film from being the very special film that it almost is.

There were original elements to this film, but the main plot was obvious from the beginning. Viewers will know not only how "Dan in Real Life" not only ends, but will likely be able to figure out most of the detours within 15 minutes of the start.So much of the actual dialogue is so clichéd and poorly thought out. Without spoiling the film, Dan is meant to be a writer, but any time any of his material is introduced, it is hacky trite glurge. I rolled my eyes almost every time we were introduced to his writing. The idea that he is published, sought after, and even considered original in itself is totally unbelievable. There are elements that are original, yet these are either totally botched and the opportunity is wasted, or they are pulled off in an over the top way. At times it felt like this was trying to be a farce, at other times a quiet comedy, and at others an ensemble. I felt the family element with both Dan's nuclear and extended family was overwhelming and unbelievable. Details were sketched in, I suppose because of a lack of time and an expectation the viewer would project their own ideas about what was going on. So much is glossed over. I suspect that if this film was given proper time, or if it chose a comedy sub-genre, it would have been more enjoyable.

I was impressed to see the box office total on this very modest indie, which can be chalked up to the presence of Steve Carell in the lead. Carrell is on a roll at present and seems unable to do anything wrong (except perhaps for his Noah flick). He may not be Matt Damon or Ben Affleck, but he always draws a crowd. Smart of the filmmakers to capitalize on his presence; just look at the poster/cover art. DAN tells an old tale -- a very old one -- of love tied up in a triangle. Carrell plays a lonely widower with three growing daughters who meets a charming Frenchie (Binoche) in a bookstore and is instantly smitten. Unfortunately, he soon learns she's dating his kid brother (Cook). Complications ensue. Without Carrell, the film would be unwatchable. Cook is insufferable as always and Binoche fails to register in any meaningful way, even in the requisite shower scene. . Carrell's very white, upper middle class family is made up of 1950's stereotypes, and the setting (the beaches of Rhode Island) is one huge cliché. But Carrell is on in just about every scene, thank God. He manages to keep things moving along, right through the very clichéd finale.