| DAN IN REAL LIFE (2007) : P.Hedges : 5/10 |
|
|
 An unfortunate title: even by the standards of mainstream Hollywood romantic-comedies, there's disappointingly little that's particularly 'real' about Dan in Real Life. The plot is full of silly, contrived stuff that only happens in movies - including the central conceit of hapless fortysomething Dan Burns (Steve Carell), four years a widower, finally meeting the ideal woman - beautiful, cultured Anne-Marie (Juliette Binoche) - only to discover she's the fiancee of his younger brother Mitch (Dane Cook). In real "real life" most people would curse their luck and move on - but not here. The lovestruck Dan - a journalist who pens a parenting advice-column ('Dan In Real Life'), but struggles with the burden of bringing up his own three (implausibly nice/precocious/articulate) daughters - becomes increasingly convinced that Anne-Marie is The One. Laborious, mildly-farcical, vaguely sub-Woody-Allenish complications ensue, played out in the cosily wood-walled confines of the Burns clan's seaside Rhode Island holiday-home. The extended family, headed by Nana (Dianne Wiest) and Poppy (John Mahoney), has gathered for a reunion - and, refreshingly for this kind of picture (e.g. The Family Stone), it neither Christmas nor Thanksgiving (cf Hedges' lo-fi debut Pieces of April), nor anyone's birthday or anniversary. And, mercifully, no-one's terminally ill. It's just a general-purpose get-together, devised by scriptwriters Hedges and Pierce Gardner with the main aim of providing obstacles for Dan and Anne-Marie's relationship: empty rooms near-instantaneously (and inconveniently) fill with raucous kids and nosey-parker adults. Indeed, you can't blame the pair for escaping the house's confines - and when they visit nearby old-school bowling establishment 'Alley Katz', we stumble across what's perhaps the sole moment of genuine, non-"movie-ish" reality in the picture. Dan and Anne-Marie are evidently the only customers, and as they chuck a few bowls we see the manager - a spry Miss Marple lookalike - flick a switch which makes the the overhead neon give way to a festive, disco-style illumination-scheme. The multi-coloured, pulsating effect provides a pleasantly cheesy backdrop for the clandestine lovebirds' first kiss, but what really elevates the scene is the brief, twinkling, silent presence - and prescience - of the Alley Katz lady. Of course, Hedges and Gardner go and ruin it for couple and audience alike by having the entire Burns mob materialise at precisely the wrong moment. But even this can't spoil what was a very nice grace-note: it's no surprise to learn that Mrs Alley Katz is octogenarian Pauline Gregory, who's worked there since 1966. According to her local paper, she "filmed a second part that ended up on the cutting room floor. In that scene, the white-haired Gregory speeds in her car past Carell's station-wagon just as his three teenage daughters complain about his slow pace" - an unfortunate omission. While Mrs Gregory is emphatically the "real" thing, Alley Katz was relatively 'Hollywooded-up': "fundamentally, the interior stayed the same, but they added tons of lighting, the decorative lighting, a sign that flashes, and a mirror ball. We kept it all." The alley won't the only beneficiary of Dan In Real Life, of course: it's carefully tailored for a specific (female/dating) audience, and on those limited terms works reasonably well. Carell is watchably genial, and there's an acceptable laugh-quotient that leavens some occasionally clunky dialogue - featuring numerous schmaltzy life-lesson homilies ("love is not a feeling, it's an ability," etc.) But there's not that much here for those outside the film's target demographic. It's all just a little too pesteringly bittersweet - as with the soundtrack's series of acoustic-guitar songs by winsome Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche that eventually cease being charming and become rather gratingly intrusive. Neil Young 11.Jan.08 -------------------------------------------------------------------- USA 99m (BBFC timing) director : Peter Hedges (Pieces of April) editor : Sarah Flack (Marie Antoinette, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Lost In Translation, etc) seen 7.Jan.08 Newcastle (Empire cinema : press show) -------------------------------------------------------------------- The photograph at the top of this page shows Mrs Pauline Gregory at the Alley Katz bowling-alley (Westerly, Rhode Island, USA), and is from the Westerly Sun newspaper. It was taken by Joshua Lebovitz is and reproduced with kind permission of the newspaper. With thanks to Daniel Hyland, Photo Dept Manager.  |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
