CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Film

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Wide Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 

Limited Releases

sort by name sort by score

83 Alexandra
80 Band's Visit, The
76 Beauty in Trouble
47 Bella
80 Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59 Blind Mountain
55 Bra Boys
60 Brick Lane
70 Caramel
49 Children of Huang Shi, The
83 Chop Shop
83 Chris & Don. A Love Story
78 Counterfeiters, The
52 Diminished Capacity
64 Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73 Duchess of Langeais, The
84 Edge of Heaven, The
52 Elsa & Fred
79 Encounters at the End of the World
62 Expired
64 Fall, The
51 Finding Amanda
57 Flawless
86 Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63 Foot Fist Way, The
60 Fugitive Pieces
45 Full Grown Men
55 Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69 Go-Getter, The
74 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63 Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68 Heartbeat Detector
34 Holding Trevor
68 Honeydripper
55 Irina Palm
69 Jellyfish
60 Jihad for Love, A
68 Kabluey
62 Kiss the Bride
63 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82 Last Mistress, The
38 Life Before Her Eyes, The
70 Love Songs
64 Married Life
30 Meet Bill
33 Miss Conception
53 Mister Lonely
75 Mongol
52 Mother of Tears, The
52 My Blueberry Nights
71 My Brother Is an Only Child
84 My Winnipeg
61 On the Rumba River
69 Operation Filmmaker
61 OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83 Paranoid Park
72 Priceless
51 Promotion, The
55 Quid Pro Quo
29 Red Roses and Petrol
79 Reprise
71 Roman de gare
56 Sangre de mi sangre
51 Savage Grace
76 Shotgun Stories
66 Son of Rambow
70 Standard Operating Procedure
62 Stuck
72 Surfwise
81 Tell No One
56 Then She Found Me
xx Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71 To the Limit
54 Tracey Fragments, The
70 Trumbo
72 Tuya's Marriage
83 U2 3D
56 Unknown Woman
86 Up the Yangtze
79 Visitor, The
62 Wackness, The
37 War, Inc.
64 Water Lilies
66 When Did You Last See Your Father?
55 Without the King
72 Woman on the Beach
64 XXY
67 Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75 Young@Heart

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Dan in Real Life
Touchstone Pictures

Dan in Real Life reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 65 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.2 out of 10
based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 107 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some innuendo

Starring Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Norbert Leo Butz, John Mahoney, and Dianne Wiest

Advice columnist Dan Burns is an expert on relationships, but struggles to succeed as a brother a song and a single parent. (Touchstone Pictures)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Drama  |  Romance  
WRITTEN BY: Pierce Gardner
Peter Hedges
 
DIRECTED BY: Peter Hedges  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: March 11, 2008 
Theatrical: October 26, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Dan in Real Life fires on so many circuits that at times it's actually shocking how good it is.
Read Full Review
91
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A nimble and supple and moving comedy.
Read Full Review
88
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Carell shows a whole new side to his talents.
Read Full Review
88
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
As a director Hedges is smart enough to allow his actors to share the frame and interact and let the material breathe.
Read Full Review
88
Premiere Glenn Kenny
A smart, sweet, and thoroughly disarming ensemble comedy that isn't afraid to wear its humanism on its sleeve.
Read Full Review
80
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Dan offers the most pleasing kind of unforced charm as it uses a terrific plot device to examine the conflicts between family and romance as well as the joy and pain of being in love.
Read Full Review
80
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Provides Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche with comic roles that fit them like designer threads.
Read Full Review
80
Variety Joe Leydon
Deftly interlaces heart and humor in a witty, warm and well-observed comedy about the unexpected and inconvenient blooming of romance at the weekend gathering of an extended family.
Read Full Review
75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Novelist-turned-writer/director Peter Hedges follows up his "Pieces Of April" debut with a comedy that's at once overstuffed and surprisingly subtle.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
If the film has a flaw, and I'm afraid it does, it's the Sondre Lerche songs on the soundtrack. They are too foregrounded and literal, either commenting on the action or expounding on associated topics. In such a laid-back movie, they're in our face.
Read Full Review
75
TV Guide Ken Fox
Watching Binoche dithering about an American comedy takes some getting used to, but she's a believable soul mate for the hangdog Carell. The rest of the family, however, has got to go.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Kyle Smith
The anti-Ben Stiller comedy: There's humiliation aplenty but no mugging, no abuse to the crotch region, no straining to be outrageous.
Read Full Review
70
Time Richard Corliss
In a brief review in Time magazine this week, I gave Dan a gentleman's B-. Let me try to remember why. Because the pressure of keeping his ardor secret turns Dan pleasingly cranky.
Read Full Review
70
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
There's nothing groundbreaking about Dan in Real Life -- it's a picture that could have been made 10 or 20 years ago -- and yet its easygoing, affable nature is exactly what makes it pleasurable.
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Dan in Real Life is neither wildly farcical nor mockingly cruel, but rather, for the most part, winningly gentle and observant.
Read Full Review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
In the end, the commercial necessity of wrapping up a family comedy in less than 100 minutes seems to have trumped anything real about Dan's life.
Read Full Review
63
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Dan in Real Life is basically a slightly less-sappy version of "TheFamily Stone."
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Sweet it is. Remotely connected to real life, however, it is not.
Read Full Review
63
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Almost reflexively, the filmmakers skirt Dan's messier conflicts. But it is the moments when they don't dance around the awkward issue of a brother falling for his brother's girl that Dan is the most poignant.
Read Full Review
63
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Cook has as much depth as a coaster, so it's impossible under any circumstances to imagine Binoche falling in love with him. Her complicated, heartfelt performance is the reason to see the film: When she's around, she pierces the soothing gray nothingness with shafts of sunlight.
Read Full Review
60
Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
Dan in Real Life steals from that line in "Virgin" about Carell kinda looking like Luke Wilson, since here Carell is, after all, playing the Luke Wilson role from "The Family Stone."
Read Full Review
60
Film Threat Rick Kisonak
On its own terms, the picture is at least as contrived as it is charming and its characters in many cases bear less resemblance to flesh and blood human beings than those in a Farrelly brothers farce.
Read Full Review
60
Empire Ian Nathan
A small but sweetly formed comedy of romantic misfortune that can’t quite keep Hollywood at bay.
Read Full Review
58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
The cozy, lived-in atmosphere created by the ensemble and the unlikely chemistry of Carell and Binoche are so genuine that you wish the rest of the film was just as effortless and authentic.
Read Full Review
50
ReelViews James Berardinelli
Beneath its aw-shucks, wants-to-be-liked exterior, this is a bankrupt motion picture. It's cloying, artificial, and not the least bit romantic.
Read Full Review
50
USA Today Claudia Puig
Dan in Real Life takes a pleasant premise and calls upon the talents of engaging actors and generally squanders both.
Read Full Review
50
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Pleasing moments don't add up to a feature film, even though this one strives desperately for substance and coherence by slathering its slender story with treacly family values.
Read Full Review
50
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
All goes according to course, and that's exactly the problem with Dan in Real Life.
Read Full Review
50
Christian Science Monitor Robert Koehler
Bad movies invariably stem from bad ideas, and the worst of the several rancid ideas packed inside of Dan in Real Life is that Steve Carell could be the new Alan Alda.
Read Full Review
50
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Filmgoers haven't seen a family this neurotically enmeshed since the last Diane Keaton movie.
Read Full Review
50
Boston Globe Ty Burr
There's a great movie to be had in the notion of a busybody whose advice keeps blowing up in his face, but Dan in Real Life merely sets it up and walks away.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The setup of this comedy by director-cowriter Peter Hedges (Pieces of April) and some subsequent twists may be contrived, and the laughs aren't very plentiful, but much of the behavior seems real, and the able cast makes the most of it.
Read Full Review
42
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
With all its cloying, tone-deaf attempts at genuine emotional warmth, all it really deserves is to be avoided.
Read Full Review
25
Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
I could see people enjoying Dan in Real Life, I guess -- the scenery is nice and the people are pretty and the songs are cute little emotion substitutes. But Dan? Buddy? It's not all about you.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 107 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Anne M. gave it a10:
I loved this film! I'm not really sure why so many people found it disappointing. It really seems to be genuine and heartfelt, and achieves just the right balance of comedy, drama, and romance. And the chemistry between Steve Carrell and Juliette Binoche is sparkly and fun... they really make the film work. It is so refreshing to see a romantic comedy without gratuitous sex and unnecessary adult language that people of all ages can enjoy. Two thumbs up!

D'kotah G gave it a1:
Terribly formulaic, two-dimensional characters. The dance/music scenes were excruciating. It felt like an 80's movie that everyone forgot about, justifiably. Carrell was Ok though. The "family" dynamic was entirely unrealistic. Not recommended for anyone who like good things.

Patrice D gave it a9:
This movie was actually a sweet, poignant look at family and love, and was very entertaining as well. If you are a cynic, it is not going to work for you. If you know that some families actually love each other, you will be touched. It is like a wonderful summer vacation with your best friends.

Nick L gave it a0:
Terrible. I usually find Steve Carell to be enjoyable, I wasn't aware Dane Cook was featured, but in spite of that I don't think I've ever seen a movie that made me as miserable as "Dan In Real Life". There is absolutely nothing real about it. Just a whole bunch of cliches, a bunch of unrealistic situations and some unlikeable characters in a pretty "New England" house. As predictable as can be, not funny at all and has recurring things that are just annoying. Ohhh the cop is coming back to ticket him - comic gold! I really wish i never saw this movie. I don't blame any of the actors. Horrible script. Its hard to believe anyone over the age/maturity/insight level of 20 years wrote this script.

Otm S. gave it a4:
Pap. The characters exist only to create dilemmas for the romantic leads. Steve Carrell does his best, but the writing is uninspired.

Jon C. gave it a0:
Very strange movie. I was waiting for it to turn surreal - I thought maybe they were making it bad on purpose. But no, this is supposed to be a real movie with real outdoor morning aerobics for the family and even a talent show with costumes. Reminded me of a Cosby Show episode. Maybe it was a computer generated script - I wouldn't be surprised as they seem to think the more CG the better.

Devon S. gave it an8:
A cute, humorous, and lighthearted tribute to the sitcoms of America.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: World News | Fantasy Football | Amy Winehouse | Baseball | E3 | Batman | Firefox 3 | iPhone 3G

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use