Dan in Real Life

Tackling romance: Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche in Dan in Real Life.

They all head for a family reunion at a
Rhode Island home presided over by mom (Dianne Wiest) and dad (John
Mahoney), with Dan breaking away from the compound to visit a seaside
bookstore, whereupon he meets dazzling stranger Marie (Juliette
Binoche). (Wishing to be “swept away” as she searches for certain tomes
to read, Dan recommends Everybody Poops.) Dan is hesitant to
follow up on their instant attraction, still rusty from the idea of
hookups four years after his wife’s death, but things get exponentially
awkward when Marie shows up at the reunion, as the new girlfriend of
Dan’s love-em-and-leave-em brother Mitch (Dane Cook). Dan and Marie try
to keep their bookstore introduction a secret, but it’s obvious the
sparks are flying between them. 

Director Peter Hedges (Pieces of April)
co-wrote the script with Pierce Gardner, and they add their own sparks
to the familiar second-time-around formula, such as a funny moment when
Dan hides in a shower so that he’s not discovered by his daughter Jane,
but Marie has to hop in the tub as well. It’s a little precious at
times, notably when the family performs their own personal talent show,
yet Hedges always grounds the characters in realistic behavior so that
the film ultimately lives up to its title. Binoche is a beguiling
presence and Carell has a slew of wonderful fatherly moments; when Cara
says about her boyfriend, “You don’t have to worry: When it comes to
sex he wants to wait,” Dan stammers, “What about that statement is
supposed to give me comfort?” As Dan remarks in the finale, “plan to be
surprised” by this pleasant, civilized entertainment.

Disney-Touchstone Home Entertainment offers Dan in Real Life
in a letterboxed 1.85:1 presentation, with a commentary track by
Hedges, 20 minutes’ worth of 11 deleted scenes (with optional
commentary from Hedges), three minutes of outtakes, a 15-minute
making-of vignette and a 10-minute look at the gentle music
compositions from Sondre Lerche. An Easter egg offers an additional
minute of outtakes, with many shots of Carell getting beaned with a
football.