Trying to criticize Dan in Real Life is like trying to beat a puppy; it may be annoying, it may not be what you wanted, but you’re never going to lay a hand on something that cutesy. Still, that’s not to say that the film is perfect or that its total number of imperfections are few and far between. If you’re looking for something that’s middle of the road and not terribly offensive than I think what we have here is a pretty safe bet. Of course, it does pose one ethical quandary in begging the viewer to accept that one woman would refuse Steve Carell for so long while being with Dane Cook.



Carell is Dan Burns, a widower raising three girls. He’s an advice columnist helping parents with their problems, but in his own reality, Dan’s advice rarely works out. Dan takes his girls and heads up to Maine for a family reunion at his parents’ (John Mahoney and Diane Wiest) lake house. While out at the local bookstore, Dan meets and hits it off with Marie (Juliette Binoche) and the two part ways promising to meet up at a later time. As it turns out, Marie is actually the girlfriend of Dan’s brother Mitch (Cook), but how long can the Dan and Marie fight their obvious, mutual attraction while staying under the same roof?



Obvious answers to these and other questions unfold as scripted in a tight though taxing 90 minute running time. Carell does his best, he hits all the notes he has to without overdoing it, but honestly, he was the last, best, only hope for this tripe. The question posed in the first paragraph is the real mystery and that’s aside from the mysterious charisma that Cook seems to have over a great many people. And while it’s true, I am not a fan, I like his character just as much. There’s a scene where the family rakes Mitch out over his past romantic choices and you got to ask yourself: she’s staying with the dog over casting him away and taking a chance on the obviously dedicated father?



Basically, if Carell was looking for a venue to further his film stardom cache beyond 40 Year Old Virgin, then he continues his search for it. Perhaps he should go back knocking on Judd Apatow’s door. As for Dane Cook… well, whatever. Like I say from the top, to criticize this movie would be pointless, it’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just average. Bland, really. Sadly predictable to the point where it feels like you, yourself have written the script in your dreams or something, Dan in Real Life is not without its charm, though exists in spite of it.