Raunchy comedies, family comedies, even dramedies: Steve Carell has officially tried it all… in about a year and a half.  The most surprising part:  he’s been pretty successful, with the lone exception of “Evan Almighty,” which still had somewhat of a cult following.  After bursting onto the scene with his first lead role in “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” Carell has tried, and succeeded, in just about every aspect of comedy films.  What comes as the biggest surprise in his latest movie, “Dan in Real Life” is that Carell has legitimate acting chops.

                Carell plays the lead role of Dan, a widower busy raising 3 daughters and writing an advice column for parents.  Problem is, Dan is losing control of his own daughters.  This is in part due to his over-protective nature.  Against his middle-daughter’s wishes, Dan packs up the family car and heads to his parents' home where his entire family gathers each year.  But this year isn’t like any other.  After meeting a woman he immediately falls for, he learns she is planning on sticking around- as his brother’s girlfriend.  The two are thrust into several awkward situations, one after another, and while they try their best to avoid one another, they fail miserably.

                Delicately crafted, this comedy is wonderful from start to finish.  Carell succeeds in his role by mixing in his classic awkwardness, and it plays right into his character as a middle-aged widower.  Dane Cook plays Mitch Burns, Dan’s younger brother.  He’s spent the past several years with dozens of different women, often using pickup lines crafted from Dan’s unpublished book.  But now that Mitch is with a woman Dan desires, he has ironically decided to finally settle down, putting both Dan and Marie, the girl, in a weird but funny situation.

                Unlike past movies Cook plays a down to earth character.  In fact, he rarely has a comedic moment in this movie.  He acts more as a stabilizer, leaving the comedic stuff up to Carell.  Marie, played by Juliette Binoche, is a perfect fit for her role, with one exception.  They continually refer to her as a “hottie” throughout the movie, but I just don’t see it.  Attractive she is, but to call her a “hottie” just doesn’t seem right. 

                 Fans of former TV-hit “Frasier” will get a treat.  John Mahoney, who once starred as the dad in the popular sitcom, plays Dan’s father.  While he doesn’t appear as gruff as “Frasier” fans will remember, he does offer a lot of advice for Dan throughout the movie.  Rounding out the main plot characters is Brittany Robertson.  She plays Cara Burns, Dan’s middle-aged daughter.  She offers perhaps some of the funniest moments in this movie with her constant battles with her dad over her “love life.”

                All in all, “Dan in Real Life” is one of 2007's pleasant surprises at the cinemas.  It won’t knock your socks off, but it doesn’t have too.  This film is laid back and carefully put together to get just enough laughs to advance the plot.  While Carell will surely be remembered for other movies, I think this is definitely his best to date.

Rating: 3 bananas

 

On the Rack: "Reign Over Me" Runtime: 2h 4m Rating: R

Genre: Drama/Comedy

             Adam Sandler has ruled for years in the comedy genre, and after several botched attempts in drama, I have to admit Sandler may just have found what it takes.  Sure the hair is goofy, and he is a little off, but I love his latest movie.  And it never hurts to have Don Cheadle co-star in a film; the man turns everything he touches into gold.

            “Reign Over Me” is the story of Charlie Fineman.  Fineman was once a promising young dentist, much like his friend Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), but something happened that changed Fineman.  After years of trying to find him, Alan spots Charlie on the streets.  Charlie seemingly ignores him, but when the two have a second chance encounter Alan is able to get his attention long enough to get his foot in the door of Charlie’s life- and what he finds isn’t too pretty.

            Charlie lost his family in the tragedies of 9/11, but he doesn’t talk about that.  Instead, he refuses to mention his family at all.  He’s blocked them out of his mind entirely.  Now he lives his life as if he’s a teenager: playing video games, staying up to all hours, and never working.  Alan, on the other hand, is the polar opposite.  He has a family, he works hard for his living, and he has become quite successful.  Alan begins to feel that he has too much to handle, and he realizes that things can be worse when he sees what Charlie lives with each day, so Alan sets out to help him in any way that he can.

            Adam Sandler plays a great role as Charlie Fineman in this film.  It’s the perfect blend of seriousness and childish behavior that has made Sandler so great over the years.  The movie highlights these moments over and over.  Alan constantly has stirring life moments in which Charlie has little or no reaction too.  Cheadle, on the other hand, plays his part even better.  He’s uptight, and constantly worrying about what is going on around him.  When he finds Charlie it’s like a switch goes off in his head though, and he remembers what it’s like to loosen up.  It is very realistic in the way that his character feels free to let loose around his friend, yet feels the weight of the world on his shoulders when he’s with his family.

            Several other well known names pop up in this movie.  Alan’s wife is played by Jada Pinkett Smith.  For the most part she simply nags and complains to Cheadle throughout the movie over the state of their relationship.  Liv Tyler plays a psychologist, Dr. Oakhurt,  who is a friend of Alan’s.  He constantly hounds her for free advice, until she finally points out that if he needs help he should find time to schedule an appointment.  Saffron Burrows, best known for her work in “Deep Blue Sea,” also plays an important part in the movie.  She is both a patient of Dr. Oakhurst and Alan, and eventually falls in love with him and threatens to sue him when he doesn’t accept her sexual advances.

            “Reign Over Me” is a quality movie, with an interesting plot comically intertwined with unexpected moments of awkwardness.  I recommend watching it if you get a chance, but be forewarned that it is a downer at some points.  If the writers were trying to tell us anything with this movie, it is that love hurts.  At the same time this movie also shows us the importance of friendship with a smooth mix of seriousness and funny moments.

Rating: 3 bananas

 

From the Vault: “Man on the Moon” Runtime: 1h 58m Rating: R

Genre: Comedy/Drama

                This week’s vault movie comes from Jim Carrey in his 1999 cult classic, “Man on the Moon.”  It’s only fitting that Jim Carrey would play the role of Andy Kaufman who languished the title “comedian.”  Like Carrey, Kaufman was at his best as an entertainer.  Kaufman always claimed he wasn’t a comedian but rather a singer/song man, as the movie explains, which works greatly to Jim Carrey’s unique skill set.

            “Man on the Moon” is a biopic flick that takes you into the eccentric Andy Kaufman’s life.  It gives you a chance to see what exactly Kaufman was thinking when he pulled his various stunts.  You get see his meager starts, and failed attempts, on the comedy circuit.  You also see his reluctance to join the show “Taxi,” and how they based his character off of one Kaufman created. 

            Jim Carrey does a pretty good job of playing Andy Kaufman, but almost takes it a little overboard at times.  There’s eccentric, and then there’s downright crazy. Carrey’s best work in this movie comes from his re-enactments of Andy’s on-stage work. 

            My personal favorite actor in this film was Danny Devito as Andy’s manager George Shapiro.  He comes across confused and angered by Kaufman’s shenanigans and is always throwing a fit because he doesn’t understand Andy's idea of what’s funny.  In fact, Kaufman regularly leaves Shapiro out of the loop which DeVito plays up by throwing fits.  Paul Giamatti also stars in this film, years before his Oscar award winning days.  He plays Kaufman’s best friend (and "yes" man), Bob Zmuda.  Giamatti portrays the friendship between Kaufman and Zmuda very well.

            Courtney Love is also in this film as Lynne Margulies, Andy’s long-time girlfriend.  She doesn’t do much of anything memorable- the best thing that can be said for her role was that she didn’t drag this movie down… much.

            “Man on the Moon,” is a funny movie if you’re a fan of Andy Kaufman, SNL, or just biopics in general.  It tells an interesting story, but at times doesn’t explain a whole lot.  As a whole the movie was very average, but had several flashes of greatness.

Rating: 2 bananas

 

     Don't forget that you can always drop me a line, by emailing me Maxpower@arabianmonkey.com.  I'd love to hear what you think, or get recomendations on what movies you would like to see reviewed. 

 

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