Dan in Real Life

Steve Carell has found his greatest box-office success playing vain, needy, self-absorbed characters, but I've always preferred him playing a modest, sincere man just struggling through everyday drama. It's his warmth and good humor that defines Dan Burns, a family and relationship advice columnist and widower with three daughters, in this gentle romantic comedy from Peter Hedges. The radiant Juliette Binoche is irresistible as the woman of his dreams, for whom he falls before discovering that she's the new girlfriend of his serial-dating brother (Dane Cook). The plot often falls into contrivance, but the crazy-yet-comfortable chaos of the family reunion setting smoothes it all over and the unlikely chemistry of Carell and Binoche is remarkably genuine. Emily Blunt, John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest co-star. Director/co-writer Hedges talks about his emotional connection to the script and how his locations shaped the film in his commentary track, and shares his rehearsal process in the 15-minute featurette "Just Like Family: The Making of Dan in Real Life." Together they invite the audience into a filmmaking process that feels organic and alive. Also features 11 deleted scenes (with optional commentary) and outtakes.