Steve Carell is most known for his role as a pompous, stupid, hilarious regional manager Micheal Scott. He’s also known for his sort of annoying but hilarious immature humor on the big screen. But if you want to see Steve Carell act, I mean really act, you need to see Dan in Real Life.

The premise is this (as told by Wikipedia): Dan (Steve Carrell), is a widowed father of three girls aged 9, 14, and 17, and a newspaper columnist. As the family decides to leave home for the weekend and spend it with the extended family at a reunion, things begin to spice up. Dan, still depressed from his wife’s death four years prior, is sent out away from the home to give his family some space. While in town, he meets a beautiful stranger, Marie (Juliette Binoche), and begins to fall in love with her. He manages to get her number, despite her leaving rather hurriedly after her boyfriend calls. Dan returns home, where it is revealed that his current love interest is none other than his brother Mitch’s (Dane Cook) girlfriend.

And of course wackiness ensues.

The only way I can think to describe Dan in Real Life is genuinely funny, sweet, sincere, real, awkward and relate-able. Steve Carell really proved, at least to me, his acting chops are well in tact and only growing. Juliette Binoche, who has a plethora of French films under her belt like Chocolat, was a nice breath of fresh air. Sometimes in quirky movies like this you’ll get a busty blond regular. It was a nice surprise to have Binoche stealing the screen. And Dane Cook? I’m sorry but I loathe him. HOWEVER, he wasn’t at all annoying in this movie. It was like I was watching an actual actor.

If you need a break from the normal over dramatic or movies with fart jokes, you need to see Dan in Real Life.

Dan in Real Life gets 5/5 LJ Stars