Is it possible to make Juliette Binoche look like a bad actress? Against all odds it actually is, Peter Hedges has managed to do so in his film Dan in Real Life. It is one of those romantic comedies of which there are many. A widower with three daughters meets a woman called Marie that makes him want to fall in love again, only to discover that she is his brother’s new girlfriend, brought to a big family gathering in the parents’ idyllic country home.
Now there is nothing wrong with making films like that but there is a lot wrong with this particular one. Some of the dialogue verges on shocking, for example the perfect morning for Marie would be waking up in a country which’s language she does not speak and just drift around in it. Wow isn’t she deep and interesting. Seriously?
The very good cast wastes away in the boredom. The director relies on Binoche’s charisma and stardom far too much; just putting her into your movie is not enough if there is no character for her, it is never quite clear why on earth Dan wants this particular woman, especially since the date (played by Emily Blunt) his parents (Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney) organise for him seems endlessly more attractive.
There are some redeeming moments and even performances. Brittany Roberston as a teenage daughter believing in true love and grand dramatic scenes is very good. The whole film is a vehicle for Steve Carell show casing is absolutely perfect comic timing thanks to which there are a few laugh-out-loud moments (“Murderer of love” being one of them) but it also once again offers a deeper, more serious side to the comedian, that was so marvellously moving in Little Miss Sunshine.
The family is warm and inviting, the setting endlessly cosy and beautiful and it is easy to care for the hero but in the end the script and its realisation do not allow the audience to indulge in a romantic phantasy.
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