Dan in Real Life [Blu-ray]

Director: Peter Hedges Peter Hedges

Overview

A widower and father of three who also writes a parenting advice column for his local newspaper falls for the girlfriend of his younger brother during a family vacation in director Peter Hedges' offbeat love-triangle laugher. Steve Carell stars as the writer who finds his widely known convictions put to the ultimate test, with Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche respectively assuming the roles of the younger sibling and his radiant girlfriend.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/11/2008
UPC:	0786936746242
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Touchstone / Disney
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	23,646

Special Features

Deleted scenes with commentary by writer/director Peter Hedges; Real-life outtakes; Just like the family: the making of Dan In Real Life; Handmade music: creating the score; Audio commentary with writer/director Peter Hedges.

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Steve Carell	Dan Burns
Juliette Binoche	Marie
Dane Cook	Mitch
Alison Pill	Jane
Marlene Lawston	Lilly
Dianne Wiest	Nana
John Mahoney	Poppy
Emily Blunt	Ruthie Draper
Norbert Leo Butz	Clay
Amy Ryan	Eileen
Jessica Hecht	Amy
Frank Wood	Howard
Henry Miller	Will,Rachel
C.J. Adams	Elliott Burns,Elliot
Jessica Lussier	Jessica Burns
Margot Janson	Olivia
Willa Cuthrell-Tuttleman	Bella
Dianne Weist	Actor
Britt Robertson	Cara
Felipe Dieppa	Marty Barasco
Matthew Morrison	Policeman
Bernie McInerney	James Lamson
Amy Landecker	Cindy Lamson
Steve Mellor	Bookstore Clerk
Nicole Morin	Jane - Age 13
Charlotte Davies	Cara - Age 11
Lucas Hedges	Lilly's Dance Partner
Seth D'Antuono	Gus
Pauline Gregory	Bowling Alley Manager
Shana Carr	Suzanne Burns
Zoe Paulkis	Lilly (Age 4)
Sondre Lerche	Sondre Lerche,Composer
Kato Ådland	Wedding Band Guitar Player
Ole Ludvig Krüger	Wedding Band Drummer
Morten Skage	Wedding Band Bass Player
Marci Occhino	Wedding Singer
Michael Peavey	Helicopter Pilot
Steven Carrell	Actor

Technical Credits

Peter Hedges

Pierce Gardner

Peter Hedges	Director,Screenwriter
Pierce Gardner	Screenwriter
Brad Epstein	Producer
Jonathan Shestack	Producer,Producer
Darlene Caamano Loquet	Producer
Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda	Producer,Executive Producer
Judson Bell	Special Effects
Alfredo Cairo	Special Effects
Noah Rosen	Executive Producer
Tina McKissick	Stunts
Rosie Bernhard	Stunts
Anthony Molinari	Stunts
Darlene Caamano	Executive Producer
Bernard Telsey	Casting
Will Cantler	Casting
Chris Barnes	Stunts
Shawnna Thibodeau	Stunts
Jeff Medeiros	Stunts
David Vaccari	Casting
Dino Muccio	Stunts
Jared Burke	Stunts
William M. Weberg	Key Grip
Chick Bernhardt	Stunts
Erik M. Solky	Stunts
Paul Marini	Stunts
Sabine Varnes	Stunts
Barbara Lee-Belmonte	Stunts
Gerald Donlan	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

An irrepressible sweetness lies at the core of Peter Hedges' romantic comedy Dan in Real Life that makes it difficult to resist. We've seen the central characters and situations dozens of times before, and the script (which Hedges co-authored with Pierce Gardner) will never be mistaken for having much depth, but Steve Carell's winning evocation of a lovable, semi-sad-sack everyman widower gives the film a buoyancy that makes it transcendently, adamantly likable. That may be more of a compliment than it initially seems: as Dan Burns, Carell has to work triply hard because of an uneven script, and because several of the supporting characters -- played by such notables as the gifted Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney -- feel so supremely irritating and grating that their presence detracts from the film. The central conflict involves Dan falling instantly for a woman he meets in a bookstore, Marie (Juliette Binoche), and subsequently discovering that she's romantically involved with his younger brother Mitch (Dane Cook); this unfolds against the backdrop of Dan's family retreat with his parents (Wiest and Mahoney), his three daughters, and his assorted siblings. Hedges may have a proclivity for working out conflicts within super-dysfunctional families (as in his 2003 Pieces of April), but this one takes the cake. Does he realize how obnoxious these people are? Anyone who dreads the inclusion of movie singalongs (à la Stepmom) should beware: this may be the first movie family in history to perform coordinated aerobic routines to Earth, Wind & Fire's "September," and to stage an entire talent show, with costumes and musical numbers, in their living room. (How in the world they managed to produce a son as well-adjusted as Dan, even taking his flaws into account, is a complete enigma.) As for the tone of Carell's character, however, Hedges has his finger on the audience's pulse; we know from the first shot of the film how it should end, and the director doesn't let us down. Moreover, we never fail to empathize with Dan as he begins inching -- and then clawing, with wonderfully droll (and sometimes manipulative) aggressiveness -- toward his one major shot at happiness. Though this movie falls far short of the gut-busting hilarity that Carell generated in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and exhibits on The Office, such isn't its intention; Hedges seems content to weave a warm, lingering spell with scattered flyspecks of humor. And for the most part, that works. The film even manages to survive the casting of the obnoxious Cook, who somehow exhibits a satisfying and genial onscreen presence here in defiance of the nimble-headed boob he has to play. If the script suffers from one major, overriding weakness, it is simply the fact that Hedges and Gardner gloss over an onscreen depiction of Dan and Marie's first lengthy encounter together, via a series of montages and flash-forwards. If we're going to root for their being together, we should know exactly what is at stake -- otherwise, given the content of the subsequent scenes with the Burns family, Dan's emotions risk coming across as one-sided infatuation. Binoche benefits from a wondrous presence as always, despite being given precious little to work with; uniquely beautiful, distinguished, and sophisticated (qualities that recall Catherine Keener in The 40-Year-Old Virgin), she's a perfect romantic lead for Carell. (Did it occur to anyone, though, given Binoche's enlistment as the female lead, that this is essentially a comic variant of the creepy dramatic situation that she dealt with in Damage?) Dan and Marie deserve happiness with one another; had Hedges jettisoned the sitcom-level romantic triangle subplot and explored the nuances and gradations of their relationship within a more intelligent framework, he might have produced a small masterpiece instead of simply a good-natured audience-pleaser. Still, there is much here to enjoy.