Dan in Real Life
Directed by Peter Hedges
Starring Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, John Mahoney, Dianne Wiest
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release date: March 11, 2008

One need know me for roughly five minutes before they know full well my attitudes toward Dane Cook. Beyond mere distaste, I have a manic and psychotic hatred of him, sworn in blood and pain, that will no doubt span continents and generations and will cost more than its fair share of lives. I have alienated family members, ended friendships, and even had a girl walk out on me because of my raw and visceral loathing of the man and everything he stands for.

And I regret nothing!

I cannot be blamed for regarding Dan in Real Life as a weird sort of curiosity. On one hand you have Cook, who oozes annoyance and insincerity from every pore in his body. On the other hand, you have Steve Carell, a man who is the very embodiment of low-key likeability. That there is a finished product of film that is now on DVD, and that we are all still alive, is the evidence that the universe did not implode from matter meeting anti-matter.

Dan in Real Life, when the score is tallied, is a good film, though I don’t know how I feel about that. Should I be happy that my ninety minutes was well-spent and the good guys won? Or should I be disheartened because for the first (and quite possibly the last) time, I have to say nice things about DANE COOK?

Carell plays Dan Burns, a widower advice columnist with three rambunctious daughters. He takes them to a weekend get-together in Rhode Island with his entire family, including John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest as the patriarch and matriarch of the Burns clan. As Dan is out on his first day there, picking up some newspapers, he meets Marie, who is played by Juliette Binoche (or “St. Juliette of Great Lighting and Soft-Focus Photography,” if you’re Catholic). They hit it off really well and talk for hours, until the time comes to say goodbye. Even though she’s in a relationship they exchange numbers.

So Dan goes back to the house and tells everyone about the wonderful girl he met, only to find that Marie is there in the house with them, going out with Dan’s brother Mitch (Cook). The rest of the movie follows Dan as he tumbles unencumbered into a low-grade dementia at the prospect that having “the one” will break his brother’s heart.

Dan in Real Life renovates instead of revolutionizes. There is nothing in the film that’s new, but there’s plenty that’s refreshing. Here we have a family and a group of people at the edges that really doesn’t mean anyone any harm. It’s sweet, warm, and funny, sketching a little around the margins of the old tropes of both the rom-com and the dysfunctional family drama. Sure we know Dan is overprotective of his girls and borderline nuts when it comes to the girl he wants, but he’s written and played so well that we really side with him.

Carell is a revelation as Dan, who can convey any emotion you can think of with his eyes while leaving the rest of his face blank. A poor fool at the end of his pitiful rope, he uses protection and warmth to fill that giant inner crevasse that love used to fill. His pursuit of both leads to being undone by his good intentions. Anyone else playing him would have played either the pathetic aspects or the comic incredulity too broadly, making him annoying. Carell just seems to vanish and becomes a conduit for the intent of the writers. After wildly carrying roles on The Office and in Little Miss Sunshine, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s impossible to miscast the guy and he can do practically anything.

But everyone in the cast does well. Carell, Binoche, Wiest, Mahoney, the three girls, and even Amy Ryan and Emily Blunt who have small roles. Yes, I’m even including”¦ Him”¦

Cook, as Mitch, uses his inner enthusiasm and activity to the movie’s advantage. He plays his character as someone good at heart but has rough edges that could cost someone their heart. He comes within a millimeter of cockiness and unlikeability, but he gets across the two most important things about him: that someone like Marie could fall for him, and that that might not be the best idea. It’s not about how we perceive him, but how Dan does, and Cook shows restraint and works with the script instead of veering out parallel to it.

Yup. You read it here first. Given the right character and proper, strict direction, Dane Cook is actually a g”¦ A goo“¦ I’m sorry, a ghhhhhh”¦…

Oh Jesus, I think I’m gonna be sick”¦

*** out of 4
Rated PG-13