Dan in Real Life

Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist who is raising three daughters on his own after his wife's death. He has built a routine around parenting and dispensing guidance to readers, but his own life has stalled. During a weekend gathering of his extended family at a Rhode Island beach house, he meets Marie in a bookshop and feels an immediate connection. The situation turns awkward when he learns that Marie is the new girlfriend of his younger brother Mitch, and the two are spending the same weekend with the family.

Peter Hedges directed the film, which he also wrote with Pierce Gardner. It is the first of three features he directed, followed by The Odd Life of Timothy Green and Ben Is Back. Steve Carell plays Dan, with Juliette Binoche as Marie, Dane Cook as Mitch and John Mahoney as Poppy. Emily Blunt and Alison Pill appear among the credited cast of 37, and 43 crew members are credited.

Made for a budget of 25 million dollars, the film took in 68 million dollars worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds a 6.6 rating from roughly 1,400 votes, and on TMDB its critics' score stands at 6.2 from 169 reviews, close to the audience figure.