I thought Dan in Real Life was an OK film.  By no means was it great, nor was it the worst way to spend 100 minutes.  It's just an OK movie that held my interest, but I likely won't remember much about it a week from now.

Dan (Steve Carell, whom I'm really starting to like, a lot) is a widower, still not quite over his wife's death a few years back.  He spends his days writing an advice column called - of course - Dan in Real Life, and taking care of his three daughters.  Not much time for a social life, nor any real interest.  Expected, I would think, given all that's on his plate right now.

Once a year his entire extended family gets together at his parents' house, in Rhode Island.  It's a chance for three generations to hang out, and bond, then not see each other again for another year.  On day one, Dan goes to a bookstore and meets Marie (Juliette Binoche).  There's an instant attraction, and the two bond over books, and muffins.  Until Marie's phone rings and she dashes off, just after mentioning that - by the way - she's seeing someone.  Dan heads back to his parents' house where he's introduced to his brother's new girlfriend.  Have you guessed who it is yet?  Marie, of course!

The rest of the movie follows Dan as he struggles to spend this time with his family, in close quarters next to Marie, while the two of them try to ignore each other, and forget their bonding moment at the bookstore.  Naturally, it's not so easy, especially as we (and Dan) see just how incompatible Marie and the brother are.  But, it's not very good form to steal your brother's girlfriend, so Dan and Marie try their best, but things go awry and general mayhem ensues.

I liked the performances, at least as far as Dan, Marie, and the brother (Dane Cook) are concerned.  As far as everyone else is concerned, no one really has very much screen time, or any real character development.  There are a whole bunch of siblings, with their kids, and not a single one of them plays an important role or really matters to the story.  Only Dan's three daughters have any part in the movie, but none of it's very important to the main story.  Two of his kids are bratty teenagers acting the way bratty teenagers act.  The third child is a sort-of cute kid.  Given their limited roles, the kids did a fine job, I guess.

This movie is listed as a romantic comedy but it's very light on the comedy.  A few chuckles, but no real laugh-out-loud moments.   It's heavier on the drama than the comedy, that's for sure. 

And some of the places where they did try to infuse some comedy didn't hit the mark, with me.  I thought some of it was embarrassing, and portrayed families in such an unrealistic way that the entire scene fell flat.  One instance is where the parents force Dan into a blind date, but first the family must break out into a song, that pokes fun at the woman Dan's going out with. 

As far as Dan's dilemma goes - the whole thing was so contrived and unrealistic that I didn't feel connected.  Mostly I just kept thinking that if this were my real life situation, I could manage to bury my feelings for a few days, without causing all kinds of mayhem during my family reunion.  After all, Dan and Marie only knew each other for a couple hours, before they meet up again at the house.  There simply wasn't enough time for them to really develop the connection that they are portraying.  So, it was hard for me to really feel sympathy for them, or to engage in their drama. 

The movie held my interest, but never "wowed" me.  I'd have trouble recommending this one.  It's just an OK film.

Recommended: No