Dan In Real Life

The title refers to an advice-to-the-lovelorn column written by the hero (Steve Carell), a widower with three daughters who takes them to a family reunion in Rhode Island, but it isn’t too bad as a description of the movie’s plot. On an idle visit to a bookstore in a local coastal village, he meets and falls for a woman (Juliette Binoche) who later turns out to be the girlfriend of his brother (Dane Cook), also along for the reunion, which leads to many romantic agonies. The setup of this comedy by director-cowriter Peter Hedges (Pieces of April) and some subsequent twists may be contrived, and the laughs aren’t very plentiful, but much of the behavior seems real, and the able cast makes the most of it. With Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney. PG-13, 95 min. (JR)

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