Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and single-parent to his three girls, living in Northern New Jersey. The family takes a trip to the rambling, Rhode Island home of his parents for an annual family gathering. Also in attendance are Dan's brother and sister with their families, along with Dan's younger brother Mitch, who is known for his carefree bachelor ways. The morning after their arrival, Dan meets Marie in a bookshop. They share a muffin and a heart-felt chat, although Marie gently warns Dan that she has a boyfriend. Dan returns to his parents' house and announces that he has "met someone". Brother Mitch introduces his new girlfriend, who turns out to be Dan's Marie. Dan is disheartened and resists his father's relationship advice about finding someone of his own. Dan reluctantly agrees to a double date with their once unattractive childhood friend, "pig-faced" Ruthie. Marie jealously watches Dan and Ruthie. The next morning, Dan endures her 'punishment' for his late night with Ruthie by eating the burnt pancakes which she serves him. Tension grows between Dan and Marie, culminating at the family talent show. Dan accompanies Mitch on the guitar as Mitch sings, "Let My Love Open the Door"—however, during the bridge, Dan begins to sing too—seemingly to Marie. The next morning, Marie breaks up with Mitch. However, Marie and Dan meet to talk at a bowling alley. The meeting evolves into a date and finally a passionate kiss, but unfortunately Dan's entire family arrives to bowl. Mitch punches Dan in the face, and Marie hurries out. Meanwhile, Dan's middle daughter, Cara, begins to disown him because of his meddling in her relationship with her boyfriend, Marty. The plot resolves with Dan and his daughters going to New York City, where they finally find Marie at her gym. As he makes eye contact with her, Dan, in voice-over, tells the readers of his advice column that instead of merely planning ahead in life, they should "plan to be surprised." The film ends with Dan and Marie celebrating their wedding at his parents' Rhode Island home, Mitch happily dancing with Ruthie, and Cara happily dancing with Marty, whom Dan has now accepted.
The film opened October 26, 2007 in the United States and Canada and grossed $11.8 million in 1,921 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office. As of February 2, 2011, it has grossed $68,377,859. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 11, 2008.
Production
The opening scene was in New Jersey and then Rhode Island in the cities of Newport, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Jamestown, Westerly, and Providence in November and December 2006. The opening scene was filmed at Seven Stars Bakery in Providence. However, the facade of the building and the interior are altered. The first time Dan is pulled over by the Jamestown, Rhode Island police, he is on Ocean Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The second time Dan is pulled over by Mackerel Cove in Jamestown. In scenes filmed in Jamestown, two bridges are clearly visible: the Jamestown Bridge and its replacement, the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge. Demolition of the Jamestown Bridge was initiated on April 18, 2006. The film also cast local residents of neighboring towns and cities consisting ofMiddletown, North Kingstown and North Providence as Dan's nieces and nephews. The date scene was filmed in two different places in Westerly. The inside shots were filmed at Alley Katz Bowling Center, while the exterior shots were filmed at Misquamicut Beach. What is now the Windjammer was dressed to look like the outside of the bowling center. The sunset scene with the entire family on the beach was filmed at Napatree Point in Westerly.
Soundtrack
Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche composed the majority of the music in the film, and has a cameo appearance in a scene at the end. Full soundtrack listing:
"Modern Nature" - Sondre Lerche and Lillian Samdal
"Ruthie Pigface Draper" - Dane Cook and Norbert Leo Butz, taken from a scene in the movie
"Mr. Blue Sky" by the Electric Light Orchestra is featured in the TV and radio advertisements for the movie, as well as "Let My Love Open the Door" by Pete Townshend and "Henrietta" by The Fratellis. The club mix of Inaya Day's "Nasty Girl " and Earth, Wind & Fire's "September '99 " are also featured in separate scenes in the movie but are not on the soundtrack. "Human Hands" written by Elvis Costello.
Reception
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 169 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The fine performances elevate Dan in Real Life beyond its sentimental plot." On Metacritic, which provides a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Some critics described it as a non-holiday holiday film that is derived from that genre and the rom-com genre in general. A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote "not to expect too much from Dan in Real Life that way you can be pleasantly surprised" but did while drawing attention to characterization questions regarding the female roles.
