Not a great movie by any stretch, but a better-than-average romantic comedy that is aimed at adults instead of 15-year-old kids.
Steve Carell stars as Dan, a recently widowed father of three daughters who writes a newspaper advice column. He's packed up the girls for the annual family gathering at his parents' cozy seaside vacation house; while on a trip into the nearby village, he meets Marie (Juliette Binoche) at the book store. They hit it off instantly, and it's the first time since his wife's death that Dan has felt any sort of romantic interest in anyone. But when he gets back to the family home, his brother Mitch (Dane Cook) introduces the woman he's been dating for several weeks -- Marie.
This is the point at which the film is taken over by (to borrow Roger Ebert's useful phrase) an Idiot Plot; that is, the entire movie would be over if it weren't for the fact that every character is an idiot. If Dan or Marie would simply tell the truth about their meeting in town, there would be a few moments of uncomfortable laughter, and that would be that. But no, they decide they mustn't say anything, and so we are forced through the standard cliches -- Carell falling off the roof after crawling out the window, Carell and Binoche almost being caught together in the shower.
There are moments that rise above the standard formula. The bookstore scene in which Dan and Marie meet is nicely written; their conversation is a bit less glib and a lot more awkward than the standard meet-cute dialogue. And while the family talent show scene is awfully syrupy, the moment when Dan simply ignores Mitch (they're singing a song together) and sings directly to Marie is a marvelous bit of acting from Carell.
Carell is very good throughout the movie, in fact, and he's the best reason to see it. Most of his movie work so far has been broad comedy, at which he's very good, but between this movie and Little Miss Sunshine, I'm beginning to think he has the potential to be a fine dramatic actor as well.
The movie's biggest miracle is the performance of Dane Cook, which rises far above his usual level (which is roughly "for the love of god, kill me now") all the way to utter competence. He will never be a great actor, but perhaps there is hope yet for him to be an adequate one.
The large supporting cast is made up of fine actors -- John Mahoney, Dianne Wiest, Norbert Leo Butz, Amy Ryan, Emily Blunt -- most of whom are wasted, given little or nothing interesting to do.
I greatly enjoyed the score and songs by Sondre Lerche, a Norwegian pop singer making his film composing debut here. The quirky rhythms, melodies, and instrumentation of his music (lots of muted trumpets and guitar here) remind me a bit of Burt Bacharach; it's a very different sound from the usual Hollywood composing suspects.
All in all, a pleasant entertainment, and in a fall that's stuffed with dark and violent movies, a good choice if you're in the mood for something a bit lighter.
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