Dan in Real Life (PG-13)
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This came out in 2007, and it's something I was at least slightly interested in seeing, but I didn't manage to see it until 2014. (Hard to believe it came out that long ago.) Anyway, um... it's kind of a romantic comedy, and kind of a comedy about family, and also kind of a drama, but mostly I see it as one of those awkward comedies that aren't really my cup of tea. The kind of thing that I feel one sort of needs a more developed sense of schadenfreude than I have, to truly appreciate it. (I have essentially zero schadenfreude.) Maybe it's because I feel that everything in life is almost unbearably awkward to begin with, so it's just that much harder for me to watch anything that's meant to be funny specifically because of awkwardness that makes characters suffer. I don't like watching people suffer, dammit. But whatevs, it's still a good movie, and I liked it more than a lot of similar things. I'm glad to have finally seen it, but I can't imagine I'd ever want to watch it again.

Anyway, Steve Carell plays Dan Burns, a guy who writes a newspaper advice column called "Dan in Real Life." He's a widower with three daughters: the oldest is Jane (Alison Pill), who is 17. Then there's Cara (Britt Robertson), whose age I don't think was ever mentioned, but I read online that she was 14 (and that the actresses playing Jane and Cara were 22 and 17). And the youngest is Lilly, who I read online was 9. Um... so, Dan and his daughters go to a family reunion for a few days. Meanwhile, Dan is waiting to hear about the possibility of his column being nationally syndicated. Also, he manages to upset all of his daughters, most notably Cara, who is in love with some guy. (From the little we see of him, he actually seems like a good guy.) But Dan's trying to convince her she's just infatuated, not really in love, and she does not take that suggestion well. Jane's mainly upset because her father won't let her drive, even though he admits she's a good driver. As for why Lilly is upset, I won't get into that, it seems trivial... though I did rather identify with her, because I vaguely remember something vaguely similar from when I was 10....

Anyway, the morning after arriving at Dan's parents' house (they're played by John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest), Dan goes out to buy some newspapers at a book store, where he meets a woman named Marie (Juliette Binoche). The two of them immediately hit it off and have a long conversation (of which we hear a few fragments). But then it turns out she's in a new relationship, though she does give Dan her phone number. She has to leave because she's got something to do, so Dan goes back to his family's place. And um... there are a few of Dan's siblings there for the reunion, with spouses and kids of their own, but the only one of any real importance to the story is his brother Mitch, who has brought his new girlfriend to meet the family. And it turns out to be Marie. So for the next few days, Dan and Marie have to hide the fact that they'd met and had an intense conversation that could possibly lead to romance. And Dan is having a hard time dealing with the fact that he's falling in love with her, but he has to watch her, you know, be his brother's girlfriend. And it's not entirely easy for Marie, either. So, yeah... awkward. (Though it's kind of neat that his feelings for her, happening so fast, parallels Cara's feelings for her boyfriend, whom she only knew for three days before deciding she was in love with him.)

And I guess I don't want to say any more about the plot, or how it all turns out. But it's a good movie.