Dan is Dan Burns (played by Steve Carell), a newspaper advice columnist who is rather in need of advice himself. A morose widower, Dan has buried his grief into caring for his three daughters. Right now, he is also feuding with two of them - Jane (Allison Pill), 16 and with a fresh driver's license, is mad Dad won't let her drive the car; and Cara (Brittany Robertson), 14, is incensed that Dad doesn't let her date.
During a reunion at his sprawling family's Rhode Island vacation house, Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche), and the two hit it off and talk for hours. But not long after that, Dan learns why Marie is visiting - she is the new girlfriend of Dan's lothario brother Mitch (Dane Cook). LoveÂstruck but anguished, Dan tries to put on a happy face. His spectacular, heartbreaking and quite humorous failure to do so is what fuels this movie's sublime joy.
Director/co-writer Peter Hedges, who mined similar territory in the Thanksgiving family tale "Pieces of April," has an innate sense of the complicated dynamics of the Burns clan - from Dan's parents (John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest) on down to the kids and grandkids. Nearly every scene feels true, as if lifted directly from your own family reunion.
Hedges also has assembled a delightful ensemble cast, led by three glorious leads. Carell plays the perfect Everyman, playing Dan's frustrations by never being afraid of being unlikable. Binoche is utterly charming and a surprisingly good match for Carell. And Cook, whose cool-guy routine (such as his World Series promos for Fox) are usually more annoying than funny, redeems himself by portraying Mitch's efforts to live down his swinger reputation for Marie's sake.
"Dan in Real Life" isn't perfect - the female characters, particularly Marie and a Rhode Island neighbor played by Emily Blunt, are underwritten a bit - but even in its flaws it feels like family.
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* SEAN P. MEANS can be reached at movies@sltrib.com or 801-257-8602. Send comments about this review to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
