Ebert was wrong.

Dan in Real Life is not "soothingly pleasant," nor do we have any idea where the "big laughs" were supposed to be (Ebert's review). This was, instead, one of those frustrating instances of seeing a trailer that way surpassed the movie, promising something with wit, sparkle, and dynamism that were just not there. Instead, everything was predictable. Phoo.

(We've been seeing a lot of Steve Carell lately - Evan Almighty and Get Smart within the past month or two too. R. suggests we return our attention to Will Ferrell instead.)