When Marie receives a phone call, asking of her whereabouts, she leaves the scene as quickly as Cinderella. However, instead of leaving a glass slipper, she intentionally leaves her phone number with Dan so they can “finish their conversation.”

“Dan in Real Life” succeeds in offering the classic stereotype of a nonchalantly dysfunctional family. The film suggests that while the family appears normal on the surface, when the characters are deconstructed they are a band of misfits. It fails, however, to execute this idea effectively.

Dan (Steve Carell) is a 45-year-old writer/widower who is alone in trying to successfully raise his daughters, all under the age of 18.

His daily routine primarily consists of waking up before dawn to write his advice to the humble and dedicated readers of a syndicated column aptly named “Dan in Real Life.” He then proceeds to the laundry room to fold the masses of trendy – and even sometimes unmentionable – clothing of his daughters, leaving the laundry in front of their closed bedroom doors while they sleep.

Next, Dan goes to the kitchen, pours breakfast out of a box and carton for his girls and begins making their socially accepted, adolescent-type, brown paper bag lunches.

Two of the three girls are ungrateful on their journey to the bus stop, giving their father dirty looks for the way he has embarrassed them.

Alison Pill, playing the role of the oldest daughter, takes on a motherly role to her younger sisters and her father. Besides her undying willingness to drive the family Mercedes station wagon, she takes on many responsibilities and holds her own within the family.

Brittany Robertson is the movie’s other comic genius. When she is forced to leave her boyfriend for a few days for a family vacation, she embodies the emotions of an in-love and frustrated teen. Her emotions run wild, and with every scene she turns more into a brat than a loveable, doe-eyed 14-year-old.

The youngest daughter is beautifully portrayed by Marlene Lawston. She seems to be the only member of the family who shows some humility and kindness toward her father, who hasn’t done anything to piss her off…yet.

Viewers are suddenly thrown into the midst of a large and loud family reunion. Dan’s overbearing mother (Dianne Wiest) and his even-keeled father (John Mahoney, “Fraiser”) are each other’s ying and yang. One still tries to parent Dan and the other understands his need for independence, especially after four years of single-parenthood.

Dane Cook plays Mitch, the loud mouth and younger brother of Dan, who has decided to bring his new girlfriend to the reunion.

After a long drive of silence in the car with his daughters and an even longer night on an uncomfortable air mattress, Dan runs to town to grab the newspaper, only to find himself wrapped up in conversation with a woman he meets at the local bookstore. After offering his humble opinion of “Everyone Poops” and “The Poetry of Emily Dickenson,” he and the mystery woman go for coffee and end up laughing and talking for hours.

This is Marie (Juliette Binoche), a beautiful woman in her early 40s that seems to laugh at every word that comes out of Dan’s blabbering mouth.

When Marie receives a phone call, asking of her whereabouts, she leaves the scene as quickly as Cinderella. However, instead of leaving a glass slipper, she intentionally leaves her phone number with Dan so they can “finish their conversation.”

Dan goes back to the cabin and tells Mitch that he has fallen in love during the past few hours. In turn, Mitch takes it upon himself to tell the entire family, and eventually everyone wants to know who this woman is.

Through the excitement of the family, Mitch uses this as a perfect opportunity to introduce his new fling to the family who has just arrived.

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