Dan in Real Life (2008) It's nothing personal, but we genuinely enjoy watching Steve Carell get none. The 40 Year-Old Virgin scores again as an abstinent widowed dad who falls…
DVD Review

Dan in Real Life (2008)

Reviewed by Jeff Labrecque | Mar 07, 2008
Dan in Real Life, Juliette Binoche, ... | REAL ATTRACTION Steve Carell (pictured, with Juliette Binoche) keeps Dan in Real Life from living sappy ever after
Image credit: Merie W. Wallac
REAL ATTRACTION Steve Carell (pictured, with Juliette Binoche) keeps Dan in Real Life from living sappy ever after
EW's GRADE
B+

Details Release Date: Mar 11, 2008; DVD Release Date: Mar 11, 2008; Movie Rated: PG-13; Genres: Comedy, Romance; With: Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell

It's nothing personal, but we genuinely enjoy watching Steve Carell get none. The 40 Year-Old Virgin scores again as an abstinent widowed dad who falls for his brother's girlfriend (Juliette Binoche) in Dan in Real Life. His subdued performance single-handedly keeps this occasionally mawkish romantic comedy upright. EXTRAS Outtakes and hammier deleted scenes show that the actor's ''Chekhovian sadness'' — as writer-director Peter Hedges calls it in a genial commentary — wasn't Method; a hidden video montage of his pleas for ''One more take?'' exposes Carell's endearing perfectionism. B+

Originally posted Mar 07, 2008 Published in issue #982 Mar 14, 2008 Order article reprints