Line #32 Film/DanInRealLife


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dan_in_real_life.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310:Poor guy...]]
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4	''Dan in Real Life'' is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed and co-written by [[Film/WhatsEatingGilbertGrape Peter Hedges]] and starring Creator/SteveCarell in the title role, with a supporting cast including Creator/JulietteBinoche, Creator/DaneCook, Creator/JohnMahoney, Creator/EmilyBlunt, and Creator/DianneWiest.
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6	[[LoserProtagonist Dan Burns]] is a newspaper advice columnist and a widower struggling to raise three headstrong daughters. The four of them are preparing to drive from suburban New Jersey to coastal Rhode Island for the annual Burns family get-together. Dan manages to anger each of his daughters in turn over the course of the preparations and the long drive. The morning after the little family arrives at Dan's parents' house, Dan's mother sends him into town so his daughters can have some space. While in town, Dan meets a woman named Marie. The two of them hit it off immediately and talk for a long time, until Marie gets a phone call and realizes she's almost late to go meet her new boyfriend's family.
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8	Once back at the house, Dan mentions to his brother Mitch that he "met somebody," at which point Mitch introduces Dan to his new girlfriend... who turns out to be Marie. Dan now has to keep his attraction to Marie a secret, and over the next three family-activity-filled days, awkwardness ensues, along with [[HilarityEnsues some hilarity]].
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11	!! This film provides examples of:
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13	* ApatheticClerk: The clerk at the book shop is more interested in his phone call than in his customers and when he finally gets around to helping them he's rather rude.
14	* ApronMatron: Nana Burns is very concerned with the needs of her large family. She's always preparing a meal and is concerned about Dan's situation.
15	* ArcWords: "In just three days."
16	* BookEnds: The film starts and ends with Dan narrating his advice column.
17	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Both of Dan’s older daughters, Cara and Jane, are this. Both are constantly disrespectful and rude to Dan throughout the film.
18	* CannotSpitItOut: The reason Dan is in this mess in the first place.
19	* TheCasanova: Mitch Burns is the family's [[ConfirmedBachelor bachelor uncle]] and Marie is just the latest girlfriend he's introduced to them. He also picks up Ruthie very quickly.
20	* ChekhovsGun: The town's bowling alley. Dan tries taking the kids there early in the film, but it's closed. Later it's where he and Marie meet up and where the family learns what's going on.
21	* ChekhovsSkill: [[spoiler: Jane's driving skills wind up being necessary for Dan to reach Marie at the end.]]
22	* CockFight: When Mitch discovers that Dan has seduced his girlfriend away from him, he punches Dan twice in the face.
23	* ContrivedCoincidence:
24	** Dan meets a random woman in a bookshop who he shares a moment with and develops feelings for. She turns out to be his brother's new girlfriend.
25	** After Marie dumps Mitch, she meets up with Dan at the towns bowling alley. While they're enjoying a game, Dan's entire family, including Mitch, show up to go bowling.
26	* CoolOldGuy: Poppy Burns is gregarious older man who is always happy to spend time with his children and grandchildren.
27	* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: The advice columnist's children are driving him crazy.
28	* DinnerAndAShow: During the first big family dinner of the Burns clan get-together, Dan starts saying, um, less-than-complimentary things about Mitch's past relationships...
29	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Dan gets three traffic violations in three days.
30	* EasilyForgiven: Averted with Mitch and Dan. Mitch is very angry at his brother for causing Marie to leave him. He punches Dan twice and then intimidates him during his meeting with the publisher. He also goes on a date with Ruthie, an old classmate of Dan's who had expressed romantic interest in him the previous evening. But by the [[TimeSkip ending]] he seems to have forgiven his brother and he's shown happily celebrating at Dan and Marie's wedding.
31	* FeminineWomenCanCook: Marie is "an expert maker of pancakes."
32	* FourthDateMarriage: Dan falls unbearably in love with Marie over the course of three days, but at the same time he lampshades how unrealistic it is. [[spoiler: The marriage at the end presumably takes place at a later date, though.]]
33	* FriendsRentControl: Nana and Poppy live in a sprawling home located right on the seashore in southern Rhode Island. This area has long been the domain of the super-wealthy and a property like this would easily go for millions. The Burns' don't appear to be more than comfortably middle class and how they could afford it is never addressed. In fact in his review, Creator/RogerEbert brings this up and suggests that maybe Nana and Poppy somehow inherited it.
34	* GoodOldWays: Since Mitch and Marie are not married, Nana and Poppy won't let them share a room. This means Marie gets her own bedroom so Dan has to sleep in the laundry room.
35	* TheGraduateHomageShot: Dan bangs on the glass at the cafe to get Cara's attention in the same way Dustin Hoffman's character does at the climatic scene in ''Film/TheGraduate''.
36	* HappilyMarried: Dan's parents, Poppy and Nana Burns. [[spoiler: Dan and Marie at the end.]]
37	* HasAType: According to Dan, many of Mitch's previous girlfriends were flight attendants. Marie isn't one, but she is a seasoned world traveler.
38	* HelloAgainOfficer: "Put it on my tab."
39	* HollywoodOld: Ruthie "Pig Face" Draper, an acquaintance from Dan's school days is played by Creator/EmilyBlunt, who is almost 21 years younger than Creator/SteveCarell, who plays Dan and is less than three years older than Allison Pill, who plays Dan's eldest daughter Jane.
40	** Possibly justified as it's implied Ruthie has had a lot of work done.
41	* LadykillerInLove: Mitch.
42	* LoveMakesYouDumb: Dan is usually an asset in the men vs. women CrosswordPuzzle competition, but his brain doesn't seem to be working right, after he finds out Marie is dating his brother.
43	** It also seems to factor into his various traffic mishaps throughout the movie.
44	* MagicPlasticSurgery: [[spoiler: Ruthie "Pig-Face" Draper, an acquaintance from Dan's school days who is now... a (very hot) plastic surgeon.]]
45	* MeddlesomePatrolman: As soon as Dan arrives in Rhode Island he [[RunningGag keeps getting into trouble]] with the same police officer.
46	* MeetCute: Dan meets Marie in a local bookshop where she mistakes him for an employee. She says she's looking for a book and starts giving vague and sometimes contradictory ideas on what she would like it to be about. Dan responds by just pulling random books off the shelves and then jokingly trying to convince her that each one is what she's looking for.
47	* MostWritersAreWriters: Dan is an advice columnist. Doubles as OneHourWorkWeek as the entire movie takes place over his vacation, so we never actually see him work, save for him dictating his latest column at the end via voiceover.
48	* PairTheSpares: [[spoiler: Mitch ends up dating Ruthie.]]
49	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "YOU! ARE A MURDERER! OF! LOVE!"
50	* RightForTheWrongReasons: Poppy and Nana observe Dan acting passive-aggressively with Mitch and they assume that he's upset that Mitch has a girlfriend while he's alone. The real reason that Dan is upset with Mitch's relationship is because he had met and fallen for Marie before he knew she was Mitch's girlfriend.
51	* RomanticFalseLead: Mitch. He's Marie's boyfriend at the start of the film. He's also [[SiblingTriangle Dan's brother]] which leads to an awkward family gathering.
52	* SiblingTriangle: Dan didn't know Marie was dating his brother, Mitch, before he fell for her.
53	* WatchingTheReflectionUndress: Dan is hiding in the shower when Marie starts to undress. He tries to avert his eyes, but ends up looking at a reflection of her.
54	* YouNeedToGetLaid: In a super-awkward scene where everyone's trying to figure out why Dan's been acting so weird, one cousin explains (in detail) that this must be the reason.

Context Film / DanInRealLife