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DAN IN REAL LIFE 3 Stars – Wholesome Real life is seldom planned. That’s not to say we couldn’t or shouldn’t make plans toward our
preferred
future,
but
that
we
should
be
ready
to
change
those
plans
when
real
life
breaks
in.
That’s
the
lesson
Dan
Burns
(Steve
Carell)
learns
in
this
film.
Having
found
true
love
and
marriage
and
family,
Dan
speaks
from
his
experience
in
his
newspaper
column
titled
“Dan
in
Real
Life.” But when his wife becomes ill and dies and
his
daughters
grow
into
young
women
with
minds
of
their
own
and
he
serendipitously
meets
a
woman
for
whom
his
heart
opens,
he
soon
discovers
that
real
life
can
seldom
be
defined
in
a
column. Written and directed by Peter Hedges (“Pieces of April”), as
well
as
writing
credits
by
Pierce
Gardner,
“Dan
in
Real
Life”
is
a
comedy
of
familial
proportions.
Capturing
both
the
support
and
expectations
of
life
in
a
large
family,
the
film
is
an
honest
expression
of
the
joys,
sorrows,
disappointments
and
forgiveness
of
real
families. Having lost his wife four years earlier, we begin with Dan
trying
to
navigate
his
three
daughters’
coming
of
age
without
their
mother’s
help.
His
resistance
to
this
transition
is
seen
as
he
stubbornly
will
not
teach
his
seventeen-year-old
daughter
Jane
(Alison
Pill)
to
drive,
or
allow
his
fifteen-year-old
daughter
Cara
(Brittany
Robertson)
to
date,
or
listen
to
the
wisdom
that
his
fourth-grade
daughter
Lilly
(Marlene
Lawston)
proclaims.
It
is
clear
that
his
insensitivity
to
their
disappointment
and
anger
comes
from
his
closed
and
grieving
heart
caused
by
the
loss
of
his
wife
and
their
mother. But real life doesn’t just break in with disease and death,
it
also
breaks
in
with
unexpected
love.
Taking
his
daughters
out
of
school
to
go
to
Rhode
Island
for
their
annual
family
gathering
to
close
the
beach
home
of
his
parents
for
the
summer,
events
occur
there
that
change
everything.
It
begins
in
a
chance
meeting
in
a
book
store
and
travels
through
the
troubled
waters
of
love,
betrayal,
secrecy
and
passion
and
ends
with
Dan
experiencing
the
opening
of
his
heart
to
love,
his
daughters
and
a
whole
new,
real
life. We won’t spoil the tale by telling more than this, but the
values
of
the
film
are
worth
noting.
Presenting
a
real
family
living
real
lives,
the
importance
of
family,
honesty,
integrity,
love
and
forgiveness
are
all
reinforced
within
the
film.
The
chaotic
nature
of
family
gatherings
with
moments
of
deep
affection
and
commitment
are
present
as
each
person
is
accepted
despite
obvious
imperfections. The family rituals which reinforce identity and build trust within
the
family
are
shown
in
varying
forms
throughout
the
film,
and
parents’
non-anxious
guidance
is
helpful
throughout
the
decades
of
their
children’s
lives. “Dan in Real Life” is an endearing comedy of the experiences
of
life
in
all
its
complex
and
unplanned
realities. View it with someone you love.
Discussion:
________________ Cinema In Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary.
Hal
Conklin
is
former
mayor
of
Santa
Barbara
and
Denny
Wayman
is
pastor
of
the
Free
Methodist
Church.
For
more
reviews:
http://www.cinemainfocus.com.
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