Dan in Real Life. Really?

Steve Carell is a funny man. Few people would outright deny that. I can actually think of one person who would stand up and defy that statement, and when he reads this he'll know it's him. Let's call him Bizzaro Elijah. I believe Bizzaro actually does like Mr. Carell, but it's in his nature to take the opposite tack to me. Point is: people like Steve. Can I call you Steve, Steve?

Steve Carell has truly come into his own in the last few years. Everybody loved him in the movie that made his name more well known: The 40 Year Old Virgin. What about his nearly 6 year stint as a news correspondent on The Daily Show? Perhaps the funniest stuff I've ever seen from him, and a fantastic showcase for his talent. Of course, the dimwitted co-star of Anchorman: The legend of Ron Burgandy. "I once ate a bowl of Legos." Finally, the star of America's version of The Office. Can't be stopped, this guy. He may be at the top right now. This very moment.

Let us turn to Little Miss Sunshine. A very dark independent comedy, in which Steve played a suicidal gay college professor. A bit of a departure. But, tragically funny. Take the tragically funny essence of that movie and cross it with Sleepless in Seattle. Somewhere in that soup you'll find Dan in Real Life. Disturbed now? Don't be.

In the movie Steve plays Dan Burns. Dan Burns is a widower who dedicates his life to his children, but one day he meets Marie at a bookstore. They get to know each other, but then Dan finds out that Marie is....

But that would be telling. Dan is an apparently gifted, intuitive newspaper advice columnist. As the movie progresses, you wonder how a man who is still obviously depressed can have the emotional grounding to give wonderful advice. Particularly when he doesn't appear to heed any of that wisdom himself. His soul care in the world is to protect his children and keep them just that. Children.

What happens when a man so deep inside himself and his kids finally wakes up and sees a wonderful woman directly in front of him? Well that is what this movie explores. In the background. Because the conflict in this movie is actually an in your face, on the surface, different problem. Which if you choose to watch a preview, you'll know right away.

Believe me when I tell you that this movie is a romantic comedy. Up until this point you thought I was writing a review about a dark tragedy. The funny does come. In fact, the movie starts off with plenty of funny. Enough to pull you in. Nothing gets things going in a family comedy like a rebellious teenager, a wiser than her age child, and an overprotective father. Throw that mix into a larger than life family gathering and you've got a good recipe. Or you should have.

Steve plays the way I like him to play: confused, distraught, depressed, defiant. Throw fantastic actors like John Mahoney, Juliette Binoche, and Dane Cook in the there to play off of and everybody should have a good time. But when the main plot takes over and you are supposed to find the difficult situations funny, I started to find them stressful and sad. Maybe that's what made this film worth watching for me. I didn't just sit in the audience and laugh, I truly felt what Dan Burns was feeling.

My first reaction was to not want to write a positive review for this movie based on the uncomfortable feeling the second act gave me. Now I realize that's what this movie needs from you. Because the third act pulls you back. Takes you off the ledge. Saves you.

This is a formulaic movie. You've seen it many times over the years, but not this way. You know how it ends, but getting there is journey. Carell fans see it for the laughs. There are plenty, but take your wife. This is the one Steve Carell movie she'll appreciate.

Dan in Real Life gets 3.25 pancakes out of 5 pancakes from me this week. It's a perfect Sunday matinee movie. If that can't happen, wait for the rental and a quiet evening at home.

Elijah

Watching: Transformers and Veronica Mars, season 3

On deck: Angel, the complete series