Movie Review by Perry Pannu:

Dan in Real Life
In Theatres Today

Judging from the trailer, and the fact that Steve Carell heads up the cast for this film, I was kind of hoping for a touch of ‘Little Miss Sunshine.’

And I was not disappointed. Dan in Real Life is a movie about family, it’s a movie about kids growing up, it’s a movie about life, and it’s a movie about love.

Carell is a master at making people laugh without uttering a single word. One look at his facial expression and you know hilarity will ensue. But he’s a little different now. He’s not the same guy he was in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin.’ His delivery is still impeccable, but the humour has matured. The crudeness has been replaced and he’s morphing into quite the ‘family-friendly’ movie star (like Dana Carvey after he had kids, but better). Dan in Real Life will soon be followed by ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ and ‘Get Smart.’

Offering very believable performances, the huge family cast includes great actors like Juliette Binoche and John Mahoney (you know him from Frasier), and up-and-comers like Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck) and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada). I love movies where it feels like you, as an audience member, are part of the family. You don’t see it often, but there’s an element of realism when characters start to talk over one another; who doesn’t do that in real life?

This is a movie to be seen in the theatres and not only worthy of a rental, but also of a purchase. It’ll also be one of those movies you’ll be willing to sit through commercials for when it comes on TV, even though you already own the DVD. It’s definitely one of my picks for the sweetest, funniest and ‘real-est’ movies of 2007.