[DVD REVIEW (R1)] DAN IN REAL LIFE
Anyone who struggled – and boy what a struggle – through Evan Almighty knows that the experience of Steve Carrell doing comedy, drama and preachy moralising all in one performance is not a pleasant one. Carrell is capable of mixing up comedy and drama; Little Miss Sunshine is a sturdy enough example to counter this claim and there’s also some heart-tugging moments of pathos contained within Seasons 2 and 3 of The Office: An American Workplace. But Evan Almighty was such a comedy-free offense to my senses that the mere mention of Carrell going back down the route of a “more dramatic style of comedy” filled me with utter dread. With that in mind there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why Dan In Real Life should work is there? Carrell is doing ‘that’ type of role again, the cancer of modern cinema (Mr Dane Cook, come on down!) has a central role, the plot is about as unoriginal as these man-meets-woman-complications-ensue-man-gets-woman-fin types of romantic comedies can get and it’s all centred around one of those “loving, close, extended American families” that I am calling into question whether such a brood seriously exists outside of cinema screens!
But Dan In Real Life does work. It works enormously well. In fact Dan In Real Life is a big, loveable surprise of a movie that steals your heart… regardless of Dane Cook struggling to keep his head above water in the prescence of talent as assured as Carrell, Juliette Binoche, John Mahoney and the always excellent Dianne Wiest. Cook is the only weak link in a film that builds it’s foundations off of a particular uninspired plot, doesn’t turn in a finished product that anyone would dare call original but somehow works enormously well in spite of all of this.
The Burns family are reuniting at their vacation place on the Rhode Island shore: Eldest sibling Dan (Carrell) is a widower with three daughters who is struggling to cope with all the emotional issues that come from having two teenage girls and a smart-alec young child. When it comes to matters of the heart Dan, as an ‘agony uncle’ for his local paper, has got it down pat for everyone but himself. At a bookstore the first morning he arrives in Rhode Island, Dan meets a woman (Juliette Binoche), finds himself unable to stop baring his soul to her and feels a connection before she gets a call and bolts. Things get complicated when said mystery woman turns up at the family home as the girlfriend of Dan’s brother, Mitch (Cook) and plans to stay for the weekend. Dan can’t keep his eyes off her and his heart from longing despite it being obvious that the normally shallow Mitch is falling in love with her too. The complicated situation is only going to get messier!
Steve Carrell is fantastically well-rounded in the role of dependable bore, embarrassing dad, comic foil, romantic lead and driving force. It’s a great performance from a clearly talented guy and he does a lot of good work with material that would have obviously been very stale in anyone else’s hands.
He’s supported brilliantly by a cast that are relaxed and fun; Alison Pill, Emily Blunt, Brittany Robertson, Marlene Lawston, the aformentioned double-act of Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney and Amy Ryan, to name but a few, all deliver performances worthy of mention. It’s testament to Blunt’s talents as an actress that she can take thoroughly unworthy and underdeveloped parts in movies like this – and Charlie Wilson’s War – and turn them into something of note.
As I said the only weak link is Dane Cook. Okay, not necessarily the “only” weak link – the final third is a little hurried and underweight; matters of family turbulance as a result of Dan’s crush are pretty much cast aside, but then maybe that’s a good thing considering it would only have served up more embarrassment to see Cook try to “act” out such scenes. Many say that thanks to his work here and in Mr Brooks, it’s obvious he is a stronger dramatic actor then he is a comedic one. To those “many” I say “What the fucking hell are you people smoking? How much does it cost? Where did you get it from? If I give you a secure postal box address can you send me a friggin’ sample?” Cook is as weak a dramatic actor as he is a comedic one. With that in mind, anyone who has suffered Employee of the Month and Good Luck Chuck will have an idea of just how bad he is here.
His try-hard mentality in Dan In Real Life is completely at odds with the relaxed vibe the rest of the cast have got going on. He is totally out of his depth and in a particular scene – at the dinner table when he overly compliments his girlfriend – it is excruiating to watch. It should be cringe-worthy for the character but it’s not. It’s cringe-worthy for the actor because he just doesn’t have the talent to do the scene justice.
Overall, the film holds no surprises for anyone who has seen more than two movies within the genre marked “romantic comedy”: man meets woman, man falls in love with woman, woman falls in love with man, complications arise at end of act two, last minute dashes within third act for declaration of feelings is therefore required. You know the score right? Dan In Real Life has enough charm about it to make revisiting these conventions a worthwhile endevour. And, with the character of Dan as played by Steve Carrell, it’s got a central figure you’ll find yourself not at all ungrateful to have spent some time around.
A lovely, unchallenging couple of hours that doesn’t have any lofty aspirations about awards and end-of-year “best of” lists! Check it out!
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2 Responses to “[DVD REVIEW (R1)] DAN IN REAL LIFE”
Dane Cook sucks. Anyone who likes him sucks. Anyone who casts him in films SUCKS. The guy just SUCKS. Top to bottom, he sucks.
I just got an e-mail telling me that Mr Cook is the “white equivilent of Chris Rock – a fantastic stand up comedian who cannot translate to the big screen!”
Then I get home and find that Cook’s VICIOUS CIRCLE stand-up show is showing on Saturday night on Paramount 1 here in the UK so I’ve Sky +’d that ****er!
So we shall see! We shall see indeed!
(I give it ten minutes before I hit the yellow delete button!)
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