‘Dan In Real Life’ is the new film from Peter Hedges who was also the director of Katie Holmes starring family re-union flick ‘Pieces Of April’.
Just like that film was about a thanksgiving get together of the members of a dysfunctional family organised by the black sheep daughter, ‘Dan In Real Life’ documents an annual family get together at the parents’ house through the eyes of Dan (Steve Carrell), a local columnist who writes a regular advice column and who is also a widower with three unruly daughters.
The difference between the two films comes in the form of the catalytic outside factors: In ‘Piece Of April’ April had to recruit her unwilling neighbours who in turn helped her come to terms with her family whilst in ‘Dan In Real Life’ it is the character of Marie (Juliette Binoche), Dan’s brother’s new girlfriend whom Dan unwittingly makes romantic advances towards in the local bookstore. The rest of the film is then spent the tensions that arise from this situation as Dan and Marie are more than aware of their attraction but try to keep themselves in check whilst the usual family quarrels, rituals and tiffs play out around them.
Although ‘Dan In Real Life’ is not a bad film , it is also possibly one of the most average, cliché-ridden and schmaltziest. All the characters in Dan’s life, from his daughters to his parents to the rest of his extended family, seem to come from Hollywood catalogue of personalities: all the conflicts that are set up between him and his daughters for example, are conflicts that the viewer can immediately recognise as being there for the sake of the resolution at the end of the film. As one views the film, the sense you get is not one of a real group of people interacting with each other but characters just plodding the story along.
On top of this list is obviously Steve Carrell. Whereas in other all-out comedies he manages to get laughs by his kept-in-check, repressed persona, here Mr. Carrell ends up coming across as being mannered and unreal. Perhaps due to the rather sharp, disjointed nature of the screenplay, some scenes simply do not play out the way they should: his first meeting with Marie being one of them. As he finds himself drawn to Marie in the bookstore and later as the two share a cup of coffee in the Harbour over a long and extended getting-to-know-you scene, Dan simply fails to come across as a real widower who’s just discovered someone else other than his wife after a period of solitude,. With thr abysmal music blaring in the background, one can only feel repulsion at the saccharine sweet idea being force fed through the screen.
And it’s such a shame that this force feeding of emotions infects the rest of the script too because the film is blessed with a marvellous and sturdy supporting cast: Dane Cook as Mitch Burns whom Marie is going out with; Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney as the patriarchs of the family as well as Emily Blunt at Ruthie Draper, an old acquitance of Dan with whom he is set up on a blind date with his mother.
Unfortunately such a cast is wasted on material as predictable as this. Add to the mix some of the most slushy, god-awful songs you can imagine and the formula becomes complete.
And yet still the film does not completely grate. Perhaps it’s Steve Carrell whose carm shines through, or Juliette Binoche whose Gallic warmth never fails to engage on screen or even the few good jokes that somehow have survived through all the torrid emotional stuff but somehow ‘Dan In Real Life’ never crosses into the god-awful film category, sitting firmly on the average fence.
The cinematography in the film is fine, dressing the parents house ni warm colors, and generally making Rhode Island look like an immensely pretty holiday location. However since the primary focus in on inter-character relationships, this comes across as background and nothing more.
All in all, ‘Dan In Real Life’ is the sort of film that might appeal more to U.S. audiences who might be able to identify more with the characters and perhaps even tolerate the emotional excees. However on this side of the pond, it is hard to see how any self-reflecting Brit can keep a straight face through all the faux emotions that the characters have to experience. A niche film, thenn and not for this reviewer!
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