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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Dan in Real Life (2007)

Dan in Real Life (2007)

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Released 25-Jun-2008

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Romantic Comedy Menu Animation & Audio
Audio Commentary
Featurette-Making Of
Featurette-Handmade Music
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Easter Egg-2
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 2007
Running Time 94:14
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (62:10) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Peter Hedges
Studio
Distributor

Icon Entertainment
Starring Steve Carell
Juliette Binoche
Alison Pill
Dane Cook
Brittany Robertson
Case ?
RPI ? Music Sondre Lerche


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    When I first read about this as an upcoming film some time ago, my first thought was that Steve Carell & Juliette Binoche would not work together in a romantic comedy. It seemed to me that their styles were too far apart for it to work, that it would be like a bizarre combination of Chocolat and 40 Year-old Virgin.Well, I am very glad to report that this seemingly weird combination of actors really works and that the film is warm, engaging & well worth your time.

    The story of Dan in Real Life involves Dan Burns (Steve Carell), an 'agony aunt' style newspaper advice columnist (the column bears the title of the film) who is also a single parent widower with three daughters ranging from about 10 to 17 (Lilly, Cara & Jane). Despite his best efforts he is starting to lose touch with his daughters as they turn into young women and he has obviously been lonely since the death of his wife a few years earlier. As the film starts, Dan is getting ready to take his daughters away to his family's retreat in Rhode Island where his extended family get together every year to relax and spend time together. This includes his parents (Dianne Wiest & John Mahoney), his two brothers (Dane Cook & Norbert Leo Butz) and all their wives and children. They stay in a big old house on the shore. After they arrive, Dan is sent out by his mother to spend some time away from his daughters and winds up browsing in a second hand bookshop. Here he meets, Anne-Marie (Juliette Binoche) and they start to talk, spending quite a bit of time together before a phone call drags Anne-Marie away. Dan gets her number and plans to call her, however when he returns home he finds that she is in fact his brother's new girlfriend. Dan is now caught between pursuing a woman he is attracted to and getting between his brother and his new girlfriend.

   Although this may not sound like the most innovative setup for a romantic comedy, the film is a winner due to the impressive acting by most of the ensemble, especially Steve Carell as the melancholic but likeable Dan. Juliette Binoche also does a fine and very believable job in her role. The acting combined with the warm and heartfelt feel of this film really pulls you in and leaves you smiling. This is a lot less broad than most of Carell's work in the past (once again I am left wanting to see Little Miss Sunshine) and it shows his acting versatility which is not always the case for comedians. Another element which adds to the warm feel is the music by Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche. Sondre's style is stripped back, acoustic and a little melancholic but sweet and light as well. The songs and incidental music are a large part of this film's charm along with the locations used and the aforementioned acting quality. The screenplay was written originally by Pierce Gardner, however Writer/Director Peter Hedges was brought in to brush up the script and eventually took on the role as director as well. This is Hedges' second film as a director after Pieces of April but he is probably best known for his Oscar nominated screenplay for About A Boy (in conjunction with Chris & Paul Weitz).

    This is a not a 'laugh-a-minute' romantic comedy but it is warm, heartfelt and well acted which makes it worthwhile and enjoyable viewing. Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good with no major issues to report.

    The feature is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced, which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was quite clear and sharp although sometimes showed a little softness in backgrounds, with no evidence of low level noise. There was some very light grain occasionally.

    The colour was somewhat muted but this was a factor of the winter or autumn setting of the film rather than the colour in the transfer. No colour artefacts were noted.

    I did not notice any artefacts.

    There are subtitles on this disc in English for the Hearing Impaired. They are clear and easy to read.

    The layer change occurs at 62.10 and caused a minor skip and pause.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good, perfectly adequate for the style of film.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s. The only other audio track is the commentary.

    Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync. The dialogue was perhaps a little low in the mix but generally was not an issue.

    The score and original songs of this film by Sondre Lerche are very good adding significantly to the feel of the film. The music sounds clear and full, filling out the soundstage well.

    The surround speakers were only used for some mild atmospherics.

    The subwoofer added a little bass to the music but was not noticeable otherwise.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    A decent selection of extras are included.

Menu

    The menu design is well done and certainly in keeping with the feel of the movie.

Just Like Family - The Making of (15:04)

    A better than average promo-style making of which covers the director's initial involvement in the project, the themes of the film, the locations, improvisation and casting.

Handmade Music : Making the Score (9:52)

    An interesting featurette about the composer/songwriter and the process by which the music for the film came together. It was surprisingly collaborative with the songwriter spending time on set.

Deleted Scenes (20:09)

    Presented with optional director commentary. Despite not being really missed from the final film, this is a surprisingly worthwhile collection of deleted scenes.

Outtakes (3:27)

    Yawn...

Audio Commentary - Writer/Director Peter Hedges

    A good quality commentary where he tells anecdotes, discusses shotting issues, casting, locations, points out some technical camera moves and discusses how he got involved in the film. He is honest which is always a good thing.

Easter Eggs

The disc contains two easter eggs which I have found which are both extra outtakes from the film. They can be found by (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) 1) Going to the special features menu and pressing down from the bottom of the menu and 2) by going to the third scene selection menu and highlighting the voice balloon shown at the bottom of the page.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    When compared to the Region 1, the Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

    On this basis you may as well call this a draw unless you need these language tracks. This film is also being released on Blu-ray.

Summary

    A warm, heartfelt and well acted romantic comedy.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The disc has a good selection of extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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