Emily Blunt Is a Scene-Stealer in This Underrated Steve Carell Dramedy

When you hear the name Emily Blunt, your mind likely goes right to The Devil Wears Prada, Sicario, Kitty in Oppenheimer, and, these days, The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling. An often overlooked performance, however, that was overshadowed by her 2006 turn alongside Meryl Streep comes alongside Steve Carell in the charming 2007 dramedy Dan in Real Life.

A 2000s time capsule ripe with nostalgia for low rise jeans and hoodies, Peter Hedges‘ Dan in Real Life is a touching family comedy that finds Carell as an aimless middle-aged man raising three headstrong daughters at his own peril. He falls for a woman, who he is devastated to learn is dating his brother, and needs to figure out what to do with his romantic feelings. The movie captures lightning in a bottle in more ways than one, including a young Blunt who was clearly bound for fame as she steals every scene away from The Office star.

Dan in Real Life

PG-13

During a family gathering, a man meets and falls for a woman who ignites feelings he thought were long lost. His romantic hopes are complicated when he learns she is involved with his brother, leading to a series of heartfelt and humorous encounters that teach him more about life and love.

Release Date

October 26, 2007

Director

Peter Hedges

Cast

Steve Carell , Juliette Binoche , Dane Cook , Alison Pill , Britt Robertson , Marlene Lawston

Main Genre

Comedy

What Is ‘Dan in Real Life’ About?

Dan in Real Life takes place in Rhode Island and follows widower Dan on a road trip with his three daughters, Jane (Alison Pill), Cara (Brittany Robertson), and Lilly (Marlene Lawston) for a long overdue family reunion. Things turn into a jumbled mess when Dan begins to fall for Marie (Juliette Binoche), who is dating his brother, Mitch (Dane Cook). Dan, now a single father, is raising three daughters while battling the unbearable grief in the wake of his wife’s death. Ironically, his career as an advice columnist for a local paper is about to take off while his personal life is in shambles.

Once Dan arrives in Rhode Island, he stops at a bookstore where he meets a woman named Marie, and they hit it off instantly. When he arrives at his family’s house, he finds that she is the new woman his brother, Mitch (Dane Cook), is seeing. That’s where things get tricky. As Dan and Marie secretly begin to fall for each other, his parents set up a double date alongside Mitch and Marie for him and a girl they all used to know when they were young, Ruthie Draper (Blunt). As the love triangle turns into a complicated four-point square, Dan in Real Life becomes a fun comedy about a dysfunctional family, full of mishaps and showdowns at the breakfast table and bowling alleys.

Steve Carell’s Dan Is Struggling With His Feelings

Dan finds himself in some hot water (at one point, literally) as the heat between him and Marie gets higher and higher. In one scene, he has to hide and jump into the shower with Marie as the two are having a secret meeting to discuss their feelings, but his eldest daughter, Jane (Alison Pill), interrupts them by coming into the bathroom. It’s one of the movie’s funniest moments, and segues into a blind date when Dan is forced to go on with a woman the family calls Ruthie “Pigface” Draper. An unceremoniously cruel nickname, Ruthie is remembered for her looks… but not in a savory way.

Emily Blunt Dances to “Fever” While Seducing Steve Carell

Prior to Blunt’s arrival as Ruthie, the family dedicates a song to her on the piano keys. Broadway star Norbert Leo Butz, who plays Dan’s other brother, Clay, improvises an impressively catchy tune that makes fun of Ruthie’s face. As Blunt arrives in a stylish dress, she’s undeniably a knockout, and she knows it. Once on the date, Dan is squirming in his seat as Ruthie makes a meal out of flirting with him. As the song “Fever” comes on, she has no choice but to sway to the beat, and begins to dance by herself on the dance floor.

Her dedication to playing a shamelessly seductive, empowered woman who knows what she wants is what makes her role in the film so memorable. Blunt has a total of rouhgly fifteen minutes of screen time, but she makes it simmer as she seduces a shy, awkward Dan who is way out of his comfort zone and league. Carell and Blunt have an easy, hilarious chemistry as Dan is the mouse Ruthie is chasing. Add in Marie’s jealousy on the double date and Mitch’s cluelessness about what’s going on, and it’s one of the best scenes in the movie.

Blunt’s role in Dan in Real Life takes on a life of its own. As “Fever” continues to blare, Carell brushes off his infamously bad dance movesm which, especially when compared to the much younger Ruthie’s, are a sight to behold, and the two nail the awkwardness and hilarity of a couple that wouldn’t last for one minute. When Marie and Mitch join the dance floor and compete to out-dance them, the jealousy Dan and Marie feel is palpable. As “Fever” comes to a close, you don’t want the scene to end, or for Ruthie to leave. Blunt came, saw, and conquered as Ruthie Draper, and put the whole Burn family to shame, despite Ruthie “Pigface” Draper being a pretty catchy tune.

‘Dan in Real Life’ Is One of Steve Carell’s Most Underrated Movies

Dan in Real Life hit theaters only two years into Carell’s time as Michael Scott on The Office, and was a departure from more outrageous comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy. Alongside the Academy Award-winning film Little Miss Sunshine, Dan in Real Life was a rare dramatic turn for Carell, and he gave a moving performance of a man grieving the death of his soulmate. The movie is just as much about him falling back in love with being a parent as it is about him falling in love with Marie, as it features many cute and cringey “dad” moments. The supporting cast is bursting at the seams with comedic talent, especially Pill and Robertson as Dan’s stubborn daughters, and Blunt’s brilliant fifteen minutes of fame as a horny, scene-stealing seductress.

Ruthie is a crucial character in Dan in Real Life because she invites love back into Dan’s life. One of Carell’s best moment comes after his date with Ruthie, during the family talent show in which he picks up a guitar and accompanies Mitch on “Let My Love Open the Door.” Dane Cook and Carell perform a simple, touching cover of the rock classic in Dan’s most vulnerable moment, and Carell gives a solid vocal performance while having an epiphany about love. Blunt’s time on screen may be fleeting, but she’s an essential part of the soul of the film, and gets Dan to open his heart to love again, even if she’s not the woman he’s meant to be with.

Dan in Real Life is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.

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