I thought this movie was okay. A big okay, for being a movie that has characters that can express themselves with minimal swearing. Okay in that the characters were defined in a way that you know where they're at. One daughter is in elementary school. As much as a parent would like to think the child is naive, they tend to come out with some introspective stuff. Another is a drama queen (typical of junior high school), and another just wants a credo for being independent. Everyone seeks something simple, yet everything seem so unattainable. The plot centres around Steve Carrell's character of course. The previews in theatres made it clear that he is Dan, single parent guy. Poor (not financially), hapless, single parent Dan. He does the best he can. There are some fresh twists on hapless Dan's circumstances. Not original, but yeah. Refreshing and retaining some realness to it. The rest of his extended family is there, but in the background. They worry, they fuss, they want to help. They are human and will do things that large families do. What wasn't so smooth, was the fact that they are living on a large piece of real estate with no real explanation as to why they are there. From there, it's a bit of: Parenthood, Brothers McMullen (?), and any movie you see with family gatherings on the east coast. They all live at the ocean, wear sweaters and play tag football. It's not a movie where you regret paying the $11 see it. It's just a little bit hard to relate to the lifestyle. Even if you've visited the east coast. Overall, you leave the theatre thinking: I know someone in my family like that. Without knowing which character you would be in a movie like that. Or not willing to admit which family member you would be.
Review of Dan in Real Life
