Review: Dan In Real Life

Last night I watched Dan In Real Life starring Steve Carell. It's about a widower (Steve/Dan) trying to find love all while trying to raise 3 girls. It also stars Dane Cook as Dan's brother Mitch. So Dan drives home to his parent's house for the annual family get together and we soon realize that his entire family gets on his case to move on and find a new woman in his life. Of course Dan is rather shy and wants to focus on raising his daughters who subsequently hate his guts at the moment. One morning Dan goes to the local bookshop to get a paper and meets Marie. They of course hit it off right away and spend the morning together talking, laughing, and at one point even cry together. But as fate would have it, Dan realizes Marie has a boyfriend and she must leave. Dan convinces her to give him his number and they part ways. Dan comes home and shares the news with his family and then down the stairs walks Marie and stands by Mitch's side. Cue the awkward silence.... No one knows that Marie is the woman Dan met that morning and so ensues a series of flirting, close calls, and sneaking around. In in the end Marie leaves Mitch, Mitch punches Dan and Dan and Marie get married. The end.

Most romantic comedies are good for a one time sit down (with many exceptions) and Dan In Real Life would fall in that category. The only thing that sold this movie was Steve Carell, the king of sympathy and hilarity. If anyone else starred in this movie, I would have never watched it. Dane Cook, while a hilarious comic, just ain't a leading actor.

Worth buying? No.
Worth downloading? Yes, if you love Steve Carell.