Movie Review for Dan in Real Life

Summary: Advice columnist Dan Burns is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent.

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By John Wirt of Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) (7/0)
            Dan In Real Life is neither bad nor particularly good. It's simply more disposable, soon to be fo...

By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/0)
            This is one of those "feel good" movies that really does make you feel good.

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (7/0)
            It sounds corny, and it is -- as are many other of the goofy sequences that seem lame on paper bu...

By David Germain of Associated Press (7/0)
            A surprisingly plain, sappy, even insipid comedy, considering the filmmaker behind it.

By Marjorie Baumgarten of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            If this is "real life," then count me out.

By Chris Kaltenbach of Baltimore Sun (7/0)
            Dan in Real Life wants desperately to be loved. It includes a few laughs...but with all its cloyi...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (7/0)
            Real Life? Nah--but the emotions are real.

By Ty Burr of Boston Globe (7/0)
            Sentimental, glib...

By Bryant Frazer of Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (7/0)
            Am I a hypocrite? Sign me, Dan in Real Life.

By Fred Topel of Can Magazine (7/0)
            The film portrays how good will is much harder to handle than evil.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            ...there are some loud moments and big laughs...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            There are some loud moments and big laughs.

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Matt Pais of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            It's like the cream-and-sugar decaf version of The 40-Year-Old Virgin--sweet enough, but noth...

By Robert Koehler of Christian Science Monitor (7/0)
            Bad movies invariably stem from bad ideas, and the worst of the several rancid ideas packed insid...

By Josh Hurst of Christianity Today (7/0)
            There's not an iota of pretense here, not the slightest hint of hipster irony or of cynicism. It'...

By Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com (7/0)
            While Steve Carell is hilarious, his new movie is apparently, not.

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            Romantic but gents, don't let this deter you - it's about a man, his journey, and his burdens, it...

By Paul Clinton (CNN.com) of CNN.com (7/0)
            This is his [Carell's] most assured and rounded performance to date.

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            Dan in Real Life is an odd title for a movie that hasn't the slightest concept of real life.

By Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net (7/0)
            An utterly charming crowd-pleasing comedy that adds another impressive performance to Steve Carel...

By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (7/0)
            Dan In Real Life wants to offer it all -- a fine sentiment when a movie can pull it off, an examp...

By Emily S. Mendel of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            It's hard not to enjoy a heartwarming movie, such as Dan in Real Life.

By Matt Stevens of E! Online (7/0)
            Carell and Binoche do make a sweet couple, but this rom-com fare--albeit tasty at times--isn't as...

By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            Thankfully, Hedges keeps his focus and doesn't allow the film to just become a series of sketches...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            When was the last time you took your kids or parents to a comedy without being embarrassed? Hedge...

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            Despite sit-com touches and crowd-pleasing tendencies, Hedges' honorable follow up to his 2003 in...

By Jonathan W. Hickman of Entertainment Insiders (7/0)
            I came away thinking that it just might be the sweetest film of the year.

By Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            ...a nimble and supple and moving comedy...

By Kevin Lally of Film Journal International (7/0)
            A film of quiet but true pleasures, Dan in Real Life affirms that there's a real movie career sti...

By Sean O'Connell of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            ...contrived yet charming...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Brent Simon of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            A bit more convincingly portrayed bitterness, though, would have made the movie’s laughs all swee...

By Richard Horgan of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            When I asked Peter Hedges about his deft ability to balance comedy and drama and what if any film...

By Richard Horgan of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            Actor Interview - One can definitely understand why this would have made a lasting impression on ...

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (7/0)
            [I]f you can manage to get through Dan in Real Life without falling madly in love with both Binoc...

By Bill Clark of FromTheBalcony (7/0)
            Carell, who is quickly building an impressive big screen resume, shines and brings the rest of th...

By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (7/0)
            Plot undermines otherwise solid performances and high quality production.

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Kit Bowen of Hollywood.com (7/0)
            As a surprisingly engaging romantic comedy starring an unlikely romantic lead, Dan in Real Life w...

By Gary Brown of Houston Community Newspapers (7/0)
            The laughter from the audience was sustained throughout the film.

By Todd Gilchrist of IGN Movies (7/0)
            Carell can't rescue this sometimes-charming romantic comedy from its real problems.

By Jim Slotek of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            A sweet, mildly quirky romcom.

By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (7/0)
            Smart, funny, character-based romantic comedy that's full of good surprises.

By Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies (7/0)
            The movie has its charms, especially the performances, but they're not the charms of family toget...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Pete Hammond of Maxim (7/0)
            Finally a really smart, really funny movie about the ups and downs of life, love and family.

By Geoff Berkshire of Metromix.com (7/0)
            Director Peter Hedges overloads his film with characters and then gives them nothing interesting ...

By Mack Bates of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            A wry, smart and perceptive dramedy about family and life's other surprises.

By Colin Covert of Minneapolis Star Tribune (7/0)
            For all its by-the-numbers plotting, Dan in Real Life is winningly good-natured and funny.

By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (7/0)
            If these people actually existed, I'd suggest avoiding contact for fear of contracting terminal i...

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (7/0)
            Carell brings depth and sweetness to the role, showing us Dan's longing before Dan can acknowledg...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Eric Kohn of New York Press (7/0)
            Astonishingly effective.

By A. O. Scott of New York Times (7/0)
            ...neither wildly farcical nor mockingly cruel, but rather, for the most part, winningly gentle a...

By Kam Williams of NewsBlaze (6/1)
            The fastest way to clear a theater!

By Michael A. Smith of Nolan's Pop Culture Review (7/0)
             Carell continues his march as this generation's Tom Hanks, equally comfortable and at home in co...

By Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (7/0)
            Ultimately it is Carell who grounds Dan in something close to real life.

By Brian Orndorf of OhmyNews.com (7/0)
            Dan is a delightful motion picture, especially when it combats the fatigue of formula, trying to ...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            As resolutely plastic and formulaic as most half-hour network comedy pilots.

By Keith Phipps of Onion AV Club (7/0)
            A comedy that's at once overstuffed and surprisingly subtle.

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (7/0)
            The heart is there, and the message gets you.

By John Thomason of Orlando Weekly (7/0)
            The movie is called Dan in Real Life, but it’s a stretch worthy of Reed Richards to believe that ...

By Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly (7/0)
            ...about as pleasant as a movie can get without actually being any good.

By Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters (7/0)
            The plot depends on Marie playing an excruciating, thankless role. It's not original, but it cert...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (7/0)
            Get him outside of "The Office," and Steve Carell is a lovable everyman.

By John P. McCarthy of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
            'Dan in Real Life' showcases Steve Carell's talent for dry sarcasm, clownish physicality, vulnera...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            It's cloying, artificial, and not the least bit romantic.

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            ...characters manage to be romantic, hilarious and recognizably human at the same time.

By Carla Meyer of Sacramento Bee (7/0)
            Hedges imparts, in the space of an hour and a half, a real sense of this family's history -- its ...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (7/0)
            Nearly every scene feels true, as if lifted directly from your own family reunion.

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Larry Ratliff of San Antonio Express-News (7/0)
            Dan in Real Life isn't about real life. This is reel life, Hollywood's heightened-reality take on...

By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (7/0)
            the emotion is genuine and the humor is just sweet enough to leave you smiling.

By Sean Axmaker of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            The cozy, lived-in atmosphere created by the ensemble and the unlikely chemistry of Carell and Bi...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            Knowingly examines romance, parenthood, grief and betrayal, but succumbs slightly to simplistic s...

By Nick Schager of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            Steve Carell's pursed-lipped awkwardness and sweet buffoonery are both in fine form, but those en...

By Thomas Peyser of Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) (7/0)
            Like the movie itself, Carell's performance doesn't really give you a reason to leave home, but i...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (7/0)
            Comfortable and enjoyable in an unpushy sort of way.

By Richard Corliss of TIME Magazine (7/0)
            Now, everybody knows that Steve Carell is lovable.

By David Fear of Time Out New York (5/2)
            Somewhere in between the forced movie-star moments is a smaller, sweeter picture trying to get ou...

By Tony Medley of tonymedley.com (7/0)
            ...not awful, but not up to the quality of the screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s...There ar...

By Ken Fox of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            It's a clever idea for a romantic comedy that presents a credible obstacle for two modern, would-...

By Brian Tallerico of UGO (7/0)
            "Dan in Only-in-the-Movies Life" would have been an awkwardly long title, but it would have been ...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Brian Gibson of Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) (7/0)
            Confuses charm with childishness and romance with the sort of endless yearning in a badly written...

By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (7/0)
            even Derek Jeter strikes out once in a while, so Steve Carell was bound to have a stinker eventua...

By Ann Hornaday of Washington Post (7/0)
            The kind of sentimental, patently false romantic pandering whose idea of resolving a scene is for...

By Frank Ochieng of World Voice News (7/0)
            Heartwarming, quirky and quietly affecting...the overall package is peppered with an easy-going d...

By Rob Thomas of Capital Times (Madison, WI) (3/4) No reference
            Add in a terrific soundtrack of original songs by singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche, and "Dan in Re...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (3/4) No reference
            Dan in Real Life is a pretty warm, genuine comedy that succeeds, at least in part, because of som...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            Mostly the laughs are based in behavior and character. Carell once again displays the range that ...

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (3/4) No reference
            ...smart...

By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (3/4) No reference
            [Carell's] uncanny ability to make us care what happens to him salvages Dan in Real Life.

By Mike Russell of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            Imagine what it would take to make an audience prefer Dane Cook over Steve Carell, then double it...

By Greg Maki of Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) (3/4) No reference
            Aside from Dan himself, nothing about the movie feels real.

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (3/4) Not Reachable
            [Binoche's] complicated, heartfelt performance is the reason to see the film: When she's around, ...

                         Reviews of Dan in Real Life
By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (3/4) Not Reachable
            Director Hedges's signature trademark of broad comedy with family sentiment on display with reaso...

By Mary F. Pols of Contra Costa Times (3/4) Not Reachable
            Dan in Real Life is this year's Family Stone, a pleasant enough diversion -- especially if your o...

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) Not Reachable
            Carell makes it worthwhile (Dane Cook almost makes it not worthwhile).

Movie Distributors
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Production Companies
Jon Shestack Productions

Movie Studios
Touchstone Pictures