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As it is customary for them to spend Thanksgiving with his father (John Mahoney) and mother (Dianne Wiest), Dan Burns (Steve Carell), a newspaper advice columnist on relationships, brings his three daughters with him to Rhode Island where his parents have their house. Some of the large number of relatives expected to come are already there. So there is a noisy and happy welcome for the father and daughter as they arrive. The next day Dan takes a drive into town, and decides to check on a book store. Mistaken as the one in charge, a lady seeks his assistance and he pretends to be one, until the discovery. She apologizes, and they end up having a long pleasant talk, forgetting time. She learns that he is a widower, and despite telling him that she has just started seeing someone, Marie (Juliette Binoche) gives him her contact number. A big surprise comes for the two that evening at the Burns’ Thanksgiving get-together. Dan’s brother Mitch (Dane Cook) arrives at the reunion with Marie.
The difficulty the two main characters have in dealing with their growing feelings for each other is well delineated. Marie is in better control of her feelings, but not totally as in looking at him with regrets. Dan is in worse shape; he gets tickets for not paying attention to his driving; he is absent-minded, he tries to catch Marie alone but this puts them in awkward situations knowing the social taboo of their behavior. The story has a large cast of ensemble actors, to provide for the backdrop, and the need to present interesting and comic scenes and sequences. The side plots also help to enhance this romantic comedy.
Dan in Real Life shows how a man can be so affected by a woman he has just met, quickly gets to like and falls in love with all within a span of three days. He could not see and think straight. It is an embarrassing situation which also involves the family. However, the problem is resolved when Marie, breaks off with her boyfriend Mitch, whom she has not really known that long, and leaves for home. Dan’s parents, his daughters and practically all the relatives still around, and then Mitch too, encourage and coax him to go after Marie and get her.
(Date Reviewed: 28 February 2008)
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