Dan in Real Life

Another movie that wasn't a disappointment. Another movie trailer that lived up to the hype. So I enjoyed The Jane Austen Book Club...I didn't write about it because I didn't want to spoil it for a friend who reads this blog and hadn't seen the movie yet. The only thing I will say about it is that I plan to add it to my collection when it comes out on dvd.

On to Dan in Real Life. I have to confess that I didn't want to be a Steve Carell fan. I know The Office is brilliant, but I haven't added it to my list of must see t.v. I see him the way I used to see Jim Carrey before Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I was drawn to the movie because of the trailer...but I was wary. I remember well the debacles that were Evening and Feast of Love. I was pleasantly surprised. Again, this isn't ground breaking. It's not incredibly thought provoking. It is, however, exactly what it professed to be in the trailer, funny, poignant, filled with likable characters. Juliette Binoche was lovely as the complicated love interest, Marie. And as always, Dianne Weist was great. Dan was a lovably flawed character, relate-able, terminally awkward, heroically funny, all around good guy. And I enjoyed Steve Carell in this the way I enjoy John Cusack in pretty much anything. This film was what I wanted, funny/sad, complex/simple, full of romance and heartbreak, with a satisfying ending. I wasn't disappointed. It was definitely worth the price of the matinée and the absolute highway robbery that is popcorn and a coke at the multiplex.