DVD Review: Dan in Real Life
Written by: Ashtyn at 3:11 pm
Writers: Pierce Gardner, Peter Hedges
Directors: Peter Hedges
Cast: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Alison Pill, Brittany Robertson, Marlene Lawston, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney
Rating: PG 13
Studio: Focus Features
Release Date: March 11, 2008
At the heart of things, Dan in Real Life is a romantic comedy that includes family drama to make the movie more interesting and less vomit-worthy. If you like romantic comedies or family drama-comedies this is an automatic in for you. Steve Carell is naturally funny and he works well as Dan.
There are many big name stars in this, which has helped this movie to go even further than it would have otherwise. I had a hard time with this initially. I saw a trailer and wanted to see the movie instantly. Time went by though and as it did my interest waned. Once I finally had the chance to see the movie, for this review, I was no longer that interested in seeing it. It wasn’t that I expected it to be bad, it was just a movie that I felt would have little impact on me, being that I am not a huge romantic comedy fan and as subtle as the undertones are, romantic comedy is written all over Dan in Real Life.
My rules for romantic comedies are firm. They need to be something I will remember and they need to be something I will love for years to come. Otherwise, they are a waste of time for me. Movies like When Harry Met Sally and An Affair to Remember are instant classics for me. They are things that I can watch over and over. There are very few romantic comedies that are watched for more than review purposes by me. After seeing Dan I cannot say this is one that I will watch numerous times again, but I suppose if nothing else is on, it will do in a pinch.
Release Information:
Dan in Real Life did fairly well at the box office. This is not surprising really for a comedy containing the likes of Steve Carell and Dane Cook. I imagine this made a perfect date movie and was a hit with both soccer moms and comedy lovers, in general. The first week at the box office, Dan came in second and from October, when it was released in theaters, until late January, it had made over $52 million and change.
On March 11, 2008, Dan in Real Life was released on DVD. The DVD is available on one disc in a standard DVD case. The movie also includes various special features and a number of available audio formats. You can purchase Dan at most major retailers that sell DVDs. You can also find it at several online stores, such as Amazon where it retails for around $18.
The Dan in Real Life Plot
What Dan in Real Life is to you will largely depend on your movie personality. Romantic comedy lovers will find this movie charming, slightly dramatic, and adorable for a number of reasons. Drama lovers will notice the easy (yet dumb-humored) jokes, the comedy fallback for lack of a truly worthy story, and the fact that without kids this movie wouldn’t be much at all.
As you can guess by the title alone, this movie takes a look at Dan (Steve Carell). Dan is an advice columnist. He raises his three daughters alone due to the death of his wife that occurred four years earlier. Dan handles the basics of parenthood as well as to be expected and in the off moments he keeps his older daughter away from boys while pining away at the idea of love.
Things get underway when the family heads to a gathering at Dan’s family home in Rhode Island. During this trip, Dan meets the most wonderful woman he will ever meet when he goes into town to the local bookstore and just happens to run into her. After spending time together over a cup of coffee, Dan is positive that Marie (Juliette Binoche) shares a connection with him. However, he soon realizes that the connection is his brother Mitch (Dane Cook), which is actually her new boyfriend.
This makes the goal for everyone to live under the same roof with no one being the wiser. It works, but only for as long as it’s supposed to work. After that, all bets are off. Things get moving quickly, making it obvious that the available content was either limited or there was worry that it would grow old quickly.
The most pleasant part of this film is the acting. There are some big names here and they all know their way around the filmmaking process. Carell is as charismatic as one would expect him to be and the casting of the supporting cast from Dane Cook to Dianne Wiest has been handled beautifully. There are plenty of funny-ish moments, many of them being at the expense of the children. The right choices in actors allowed the chemistry that they seemed to share spill over onto the screen. The family angle was believable and everyone in the cast seemed to work well together.
In the end, things seemed a bit rushed, especially towards the very end. There are moments of over-comedy and some of those romantic comedy clichés that never hit the mark show up. They especially do not hit it here. Dan ends up having more good moments than bad though, so I will keep my complaints to a minimum.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The video for Dan in Real Life is free of most issues that make quality questionable. Transferred with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with widescreen enhancements, Dan, is decent visually. There are not many visual problems. The background is as natural and beautiful as things that have been put up front. Black levels are as strong as the vibrant colors that appear on screen. For a standard DVD, the quality is going to be about as good as they come these days for romantic comedies.
When it comes to the audio, things are just not as hot. That being said, it’s important to note that the audio is not bad. It’s just not as good as the visual quality. The available Dolby Digital 5.1 offers tracks in English, French, and Spanish. All languages also have subtitles included, if needed. The dialogue comes through clearly, as does the musical moments that have been added into the background.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
As with most special feature sets, you have your standard commentary. In this case you have a full, movie-length commentary provided by Peter Hedges. I’m not big into commentaries, but I have certainly heard worse. There are some featurettes added, including “Just Like Family: The Making of Dan in Real Life” and “Handmade Music: Creating the Score”. These featurettes come in at about 25 minutes. They feature viewing of different parts done by the cast and crew and how the creative process works.
Next up for bonuses is about 20 minutes of deleted scenes that can be played with commentary. A few minutes worth of outtakes were included, as well, to add some fun moments. A small Steve Carell clip collection is even added for the amusement of fans.
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Bottom Line:
The fact of the matter is that Dan in Real Life wasn’t a bad film. However, it wasn’t one that I would attempt to watch over and over. While it’s in my collection it will be one that is picked out by others rather than me. Nothing was particularly wrong with it, and it comes recommended for lovers of romantic comedies, it just wasn’t truly what I would look for in a film. That being said, for what it was worth, it wasn’t bad at all. If you love romantic comedies or comedies in general you should pick this up. If you lean towards more dramatic films you might want to rent this first.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: DVD, Review, Movie Review, Dan in Real Life, Comedy, Steve Carell, Dane Cook
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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
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Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.
