Review of Dan in Real Life (2007) by Dawdlingpoet — 25 Nov 2021

I think that single parents would/will quite relate to this movie and it is kind of poignant and almost touching in a way. Also if your from a large family, you'll probably relate to this too. It is quite funny in some scenes, in an absurd sense and it reminded me almost of Meet The Parents, in a scene involving Dan having to hide his presence in a room and eventually falling as he attempted to get outside via an unconventional route, put it that way, though its fair to say that there aren't as many of these sorts of visual comedy scenes.

I felt sorry for Dan, given some of the things that happen and his large extended family pursuing for him to move on and find a new partner.

I thought that the film started quite slowly but it did pick up a bit more in the middle and it kept my interest enough to watch it through to the end, although you may well be disappointed if your expected a constant 'laugh-out-loud' movie, its much more a slow family drama about family life with some sentimentality added, which happens to have some quite amusing scenes in it.

I did feel that the plot was a bit too thin on the ground and its certainly a movie thats better for renting than one that would have been worth seeing on the big screen (ie cinemas) infact I felt that it almost had a TV movie feel to it, just in terms of it being kind of a subtle movie, its not a blockbuster film with fast action, glossy dialogue or impressive special effects (not that, that means its no good of course).

All the same, I still feel this is a good movie overall. Steve Carell does quite well playing Dan Burns and it is both funny and touching at times. Its not a 'perfect' movie by any means but its not awful either and another thing I haven't mentioned so far but I'd like to, is that I picked up on the musical score used, which I particularly liked. I thought it was quite understated and it worked well to add to the scenes, its quite acoustic (or 'organic' as its described in the DVD featurette, a favoured term of some musicians over the last few years im aware of!) and soothing. I think that it is worth sticking with the slightly ropey start, as it does get more funny for a time and also more touching towards the end. The ending, I felt, was quite satisfying too, though others may disagree of course but I was happy enough with it.

I think its worth seeing, as a touching, slow paced family drama with some amusing scenes, rather than as an all-out hilarious comedy, which it isn't really (even though the quote on the DVD box claims it is(!)). I think that it has its own charm to it and that Steve Carell gives a good performance in this movie. There are also other decent cast members, such as Dane Cook and Frasiers John Mahoney (who played Frasiers father, Marty) as Dans father.

I'm not a parent and I don't really come from a large family but I feel I still enjoyed this, so from that point of view I would recommend it, if it sounds like the sort of movie you may enjoy watching with your family or on your own, then by all means its worth a rent or purchase.