When I first saw a trailer for this movie I was about half interested, but not interested enough to watch it. However, my parents saw it and loved and then 4 or 5 other people I know saw it and absolutely enjoyed it. Then, I started to see more reviews and they were almost all positive. I started to get a little more interested, but still something wasn't making run out to watch it. Well Monday I had an awful morning and I needed to see a movie to cheer me up. I had a free pass that was expiring Tuesday so I had to use it. I could not use it on Beowulf and the only other movie playing at the time I had was this one. Obviously not the ringing endorsement going in, but I have been pleasantly surprised by movies before. Of course I have also been disappointed in such movies as well. SO which would it be this time?
Dan Burns(Steve Carrell) is a widowed advice columnist for a local newspaper. He is also trying to raise his 3 daughters- 17 year old Jane(Allison Pill), 14 year old Cara(Brittany Robertson) and 8 year old Lilly(Marlene Lawston). He is doing the best he knows how, but from the very beginning it is clear he is having issues. Jane wants to drive but he is too afraid to let her and Cara has fallen in crazy teenage love with a boy and Dan attempts to keep the love sick teens apart. The movie takes place almost exclusively at a giant cabin for a family reunion with Dan's family. The family is incredibly tight knit group who put on skits, do crossword puzzles and eat every meal together for this 3 day tradition. Actually, tradition is exactly what this family is. This is a family where the brothers hug, parents still worry and everyone gets along. But they are not without teasing each other as well. Anyway, one morning Dan is told by his mother to go out and get some fresh air and in a ridiculous adorable moment Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche). They chat for what seems like hours but Dan does all of the talking and hopes he can continue the conversation at a later date. She doesn't believe that is possible because she has a boyfriend and when she leaves him, he heads back home in a daze. Well it turns out she is dating Dan's brother, Mitch(Dane Cook). The rest of the movie is full of awkward hilarity, melancholy sadness and an overwhelming sense of love. Dan loses himself in trying to stay away from Marie and in the process disregards his daughters, especially Lilly, but since it is a heart warming tale, things never get too out of hand.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. Carrell plays Dan with the likability we are accustomed to from him, but he also grounds him in a very real sadness and a very honest delirium at the situation. Yes, he does the awkward white guy dance he must do in every movie, but he is a very honest actor and the moments with his three daughters are wonderful. Binoche is a beautiful actress and really opens herself up to a different kind of movie. She adds a sense of grace and intelligence to her character, which is great but it doesn't help us try and figure out why she is dating a guy like Mitch, who has always been a womanizer. The daughters all play their roles very well, but Brittany Robertson has the best stuff as she gets to really overdo it as a teenager feeling like Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. It is over the top yes, but it also feels like a real 14 year old love affair. All of the members of the family play the parts they are supposed to, but none of them really raise above just a supporting character with a few lines.
There is something comforting about a movie that manages to be sweet and sentimental without being overly cheesy. This could have come off like Cheaper by the Dozen, but it feels too real. Never once did I question this big familial weekend and never once did I think families couldn't do this. We live in a cynical world and it was refreshing to see a family who really cared for each other no matter what happened. It was nice to see a family who got together and put on funny and ridiculous skits and when two brothers wrote a song teasing Dan it was done in love. Nothing in the movie is outrageously new or fall on the floor funny, but there are some very funny moments and enough laughs to keep the movie moving. It is also a very nice love story. The only thing that really feels contrived is the climax, but I am not sure it could have been done any other way.
Writer/Director Peter Hedges likes these family tales, as he did Pieces of April and About a boy(only wrote it) before this and it seems clear that he has found his niche. The family is big and at times some of the people get lost in the shuffle, but he never loses sight of the goal at hand. He isn't a genius with the camera or anything, but he captures everything he needs to, especially in a scene where Dan is playing guitar for Mitch as Mitch tries to sing for Marie and he can't remember the words and so Dan sings it instead, putting a mountain of emotions behind it. We learn that Dan hasn't played a guitar since his wife died four years earlier. This is a movie that believes love can happen instantly, that a family can be your best friend and that ultimately good things happen to good people who are trying to make the best out of life. 6 years ago I would have loved this movie, 3 years ago I would have hated its overall message of happiness above everything else but now, well now I appreciate what it is and what it stands for. It isn't entirely fresh, but it does everything well and it is put together with love and care. What is not to respect about that?
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