DAN IN REAL LIFE by Adam in Real Life

Dan is a writer.
Adam is a writer.
Dan is a father in an all female family.
Adam is a father in an all female family.
Dan has loving siblings and parents.
Adam has loving siblings and parents.
Dan's wife died and is trying his best to relate to his three daughters while falling for his brother's girlfriend during a family reunion.
Adam's car is falling apart.
All similarities aside, Dan (played with comic subtlety by Steve Carell) has much tougher issues to work through. Mine can be solved with a bunch of cash and a tune up. Dan's needs a little more elbow grease.
I was introduced to DAN IN REAL LIFE purely by accident while perusing through IMDB (the Internet Movie DataBase) one day. As a self-professed Carell-ophyte, I wanted to find anything and everything he's done. This movie got very little promotion outside of independent movie circles but did get rave reviews by those who were in the know when it was released last October.
I wrote in a previous review for EASTERN PROMISES how much I love Focus Features releases. They make poignant movies about snapshots of real life taken with a slight "Duck-Out-Of-Water" slant.
DAN IN REAL LIFE is nothing revolutionary. You've probably seen this story before about a guy and a girl wanting to be with each other but can't (see Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) but most likely not told so honestly and with so much humility. There are moments of embarrassment that make you cringe because you really feel for Dan and what he's coping with (I used to call these "Wonder Years" moments).

A charming movie with small town family values and a selection of perfectly cast actors. Just like how it is in my real life...except I need a good mechanic friend for my car.

8 pancakes out of 10.

(OFFICIAL RANKATRON NOTE: This is not on the list because it was released almost 6 months ago. But to make it up to you, I'm going to be reviewing three (maybe four) movies over the next week that ARE on the list: 88 Minutes, The Forbidden Kingdom, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Iron Man...it's going to be a busy week!)