Ahhh, how I needed this movie. After a couple months of seeing seemingly nothing but dramas and epics, seeing Dan in Real Life last night at the beautiful Landmark Theatres in West Hollywood was a welcome surprise. Not that I was all that surprised, really. The movie comes from the gifted comedic mind of Peter Hedges, who wrote and directed the quirky 2003 indie Pieces of April, starring Katie Holmes and the Oscar-nominated Patricia Clarkson, and who co-wrote the wonderful 2002 Hugh Grant comedy About a Boy, my favorite film of that year. Dan in Real Life is a fairly straightforward movie, mostly taking place at one location, and it never fails to entertain throughout its entire running time.

Dan (Steve Carell) has had it rough the last few years. His newspaper column is still not syndicated. His wife died of a tragic illness. He has three daughters who all seem to hate him with various degrees. And now he’s going on his annual trip to the country to spend time with his family. Along the way, however, he meets a woman named Marie (the gorgeous Juliette Binoche) in a bookstore, and the two have an immediate connection. He gets her number and feels like he might’ve finally met somebody worth pursuing. When he gets to the family home, however, he discovers that she’s dating his brother Mitch (Dane Cook). As Dan tries to win Marie’s affection for himself, he also has to deal with his three girls, who want to be close to him, but seem to be getting more and more distant.

Steve Carell is making a fine career for himself. Evan Almighty notwithstanding (a movie I will probably never see), he made a name for himself in funny roles in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman, then transitioned to leading man in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (my favorite comedy of 2005), played a gay character to great avail in last year’s comedy masterpiece Little Miss Sunshine (my favorite comedy of 2006), and now jumps back as leading man in Dan in Real Life, easily the best comedy I’ve seen in 2007. I don’t know if Carell finds all this fantastic material, or if talented writers and directors find him, but he has an eye for funny material that is both hilarious and true. Dan in Real Life marks his warmest performance yet, as he plays a guy who has made so much time for his family that he barely makes time for his own life, and his love life. The mixture of humor and sadness Carell brings to this role gives the film a real resonance.

Director Hedges fills the film with top-notch actors. In some movies, there are many characters the viewer feels could have been better played by other actors. But in Dan in Real Life, everyone fits his or her role beautifully. Nobody more so than Juliette Binoche, a wonderful dramatic and comedic actress from overseas that rarely shows up in an American film. She gives this movie class, and she exudes sexiness and warmth as the woman of Dan’s dreams. Dane Cook has gotten pissed on lately from seemingly everyone, but he’s just fine here as the oblivious brother. I’m rather indifferent to Cook as a film actor, and he’s a little weak here compared to all the talent around him, but he could’ve been a lot worse. I feel like most any actor can be good with the right material and director, and this character fits him well. John Mahoney is great as Dan’s father, and Dianne Wiest, one of my favorites from the 80’s Woody Allen films, has fine comedic timing, as usual, as Dan’s mother. Emily Blunt shows up in an under-written role as a woman that Dan’s parents set him up on a date for. As for the three girls, the middle sister, Cara (newcomer Brittany Robertson), is the most memorable, playing one of the cutest brats I’ve seen in the movies in awhile. Her line, “You’re a murderer of love!!!” is an instant classic. Appearing in the not yet released Frank, Robertson is a young actress to watch for.

There is not much more to say about Dan in Real Life except, well, see it. I don’t want to spoil any jokes or reveal any more surprises found in the film. It’s the kind of comedy in the wrong hands could’ve been forced and flat. In the hands of talented writer/director Peter Hedges, it comes off beautifully, with not a single moment wasted throughout it’s fast one hour and fifty minute running time. It’s a movie that can get easily lost in the shuffle of the fall movie season, but it’s really worth seeking out. Carell is at his comedic best, Binoche is a perfect match, and Hedges blends comedy and drama like a master, not like somebody who just made his second feature. Dan in Real Life is a pleasure, and it’s the best time I’ve had at the movies, this side of Into the Wild, in a long time.

3 1/2 stars (out of 4)