The Bottom Line
Pros
- Steve Carell is engaging and a real guy to root for
- Dane Cook's actually not bad as Carell's brother
- Great assortment of bonus features
Cons
- None worth noting
Description
- Starring Steve Carell, Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche
- Written by Pierce Gardner and Peter Hedges, and directed by Hedges
- Rated PG-13 for some innuendo
- DVD Release Date: March 11, 2008
Guide Review - 'Dan in Real Life' DVD Review
The StoryDan Burns is a newspaper columnist who's a so-called expert on relationships. Solving other people's problems may be right up his alley, but sorting out his own life is a lot more difficult for the widowed father of three girls. He steers away from romantic entanglements, dedicating his free time to his kids. But a family get-together finds him having to not only rethink his attitude toward relationships, but also having to deal with falling hard for his brother's beautiful girlfriend (Juliette Binoche).
The Bonus Features
Writer/director Peter Hedges tackles a commentary track by himself, and is actually pretty engaging to listen to. Hedges has a very personal connection to the story having grown up with a single father he was very, very close to, and his emotional attachment to the story is evident in this commentary.
'Just Like Family: The Making of Dan in Real Life' finds Hedges talking about the origin of the story as well as the cast discussing their take on the characters. The 'Making of' featurette also explores the physical set and how the house became its own character. In 'Handmade Music: Creating the Scene,' Hedges reveals just how particular he is about music in films and why he chose Sondre Lerche's music to help set the tone for Dan in Real Life.
Dan in Real Life's DVD also includes 11 deleted scenes (with optional commentary by Hedges) and a semi-funny outtakes reel.
