Shadow Puppet Storyteller

Another Purrfect Film

I always get a little giddy after watching a film that presented all the right elements for me. The film is Dan in Real Life with Steve Carell. The film was one I anticipated seeing in when it debuted in theaters last year, but I've only gotten around to seeing now that it's been out on DVD for four to six weeks.

In retrospect, it reminded me of Same Time, Next Year, a film from 1978 featuring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn. Maybe because I've seen this, and can draw parallels to many of the comedic crossed-loves of Shakespeare, much of the plot seemed predictable. Yet, the efforts of of Steve Carell and all the supporting cast are what drive the story. And it's strangely entertaining to be drawn into the warm familiarity of an "everyman's" homecoming/get-away and all the kookiness of what transpires when extended family gather without some big event or holiday to frame all the emotions.