Fridae

In this movie, Juliette Binoche first makes her appearance in a bookstore looking to buy a book that is "something human and funny that could sneak up and surprise you". Well, her words pretty much describe this terrific romantic comedy.

Dan In Real Life is the sort of smart and honest rom-com that thinking moviegoers would appreciate instantly. It depicts the human experience accurately, and it does so in the sweetest and most entertaining way.

Steve Carrell plays a widower who still misses his wife after 4 years. He is struggling to raise his three daughters, each of them confronting her own growing-up pains. When he meets a smart and attractive stranger (Juliette) in a bookstore who mistakes him for a staff member, he immediately starts to fall for her.

But later at a family gathering, he discovers that the stranger is actually the girlfriend of his own brother (Dane Cook). What does a man do in such a situation?

Well, you'll have to catch the movie to find out the answer. But don't for a second think that the answer will be a pat, cheesy one. On the contrary, Dan In Real Life explores the quandary in the most realistic and human way, reveling in its casual and unexpected complexity.

We're only in the second week of the new year. But we think we can safely call this one of the best rom-coms of 2008.