Dan in Real Life

Hey, it's Tyler here, coming to you from Los Angeles. I’ll be dropping in occasionally to give you the scoop on what movies to go see, and what to wait for to come out on DVD, if even at all. Today I bring you a review of the movie Dan in Real Life.

First let me just get it out of the way. I am a huge Steve Carell fan. I knew who he was when he was a correspondent for the Daily Show with John Stewart and have followed him through his TV show The Office and his breakout movie The 40 Year Old Virgin. So with that said, lets talk about Dan in Real Life.

Going into the movie, I wasn’t expecting a raunchy comedy that I would be embarrassed to watch with my parents, and if that’s what you are expecting, you will be solely disappointed. Dan in Real Life is a romantic comedy that basis its moral theme on family values and being around with you loved ones. But don’t get me wrong. It’s got its laugh out loud funny parts, most thanks to Steve Carell and his outstanding performance. Dane Cook, who plays his brother often feeds off Steve and contributes with his own style of humor.

But this film also has some weaknesses. While I watched it, there were certain points where I wasn’t sure where the story was going. Most of this takes place in the beginning and I think some of it is just the development of the many characters this story involves. One of the other weaknesses I think is towards the end of the film. Everything just seemed to fit together too perfectly and ended too fast. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have a good ending.

So my final thoughts are that this movie isn’t a dirty comedy as are some of Steve’s other work, so don’t expect one. This is a family-romantic comedy that makes you feel as if you are really watching a family’s reunion unfold. It has parts that will make only the girls laugh, only the guys laugh (thanks to the fact that all the siblings are brothers), and then parts that both will find amusing. While this movie won’t be as talked about as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, in my opinion, it is still worth a viewing, and will leave you feeling upbeat when it’s over. I give it 7 out of 10.