Pretending to be a bookstore employee, widower and part-time pickup artist Steve Carell hands Juliette Binoche the nonexistent biography The Life of Gandhi and claims it’s a book about love. This ruse kicks off the romcom-sitcom Dan in Real Life, the second Dane Cook flick this year to reference Gandhi off-the-cuff.

Emily Blunt is reliably attractive, and for once she vamps rather than playing neurotics. Carell happily embarrasses himself on the dance floor with his monkey boy moves. The exaggerated, filmi portrayal of family tension and kids from hell reminds me of how different Americans’ approach to family is from Punjabis’.

Binoche’s character is far too old to be this giggly, far too mature to be as blank as the pre-teen-like leads in Stardust. Director Peter Hedges specializes in passive-aggressive family dynamics, but his earlier Pieces of April with pre-crazy Katie Holmes was more affecting. One thing he nails: singletons always get banished to the basement at family reunions.

The film evokes many predecessors including Parenthood, Sleepless in Seattle, The Family Stone, The Sound of Music and Cyrano de Bergerac. It’s formulaic — the youngest child must be preternaturally wise, the brother must forgive, all must end up with partners in the end — but it carries some truths and does so amiably.

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