Dan in Real Life

Dan Burns is a single father and newspaper columnist who always has all the right answers for readers of his column, <i>Dan in Real Life</i>, but can't seem to live his own life as smoothly. Although he's a great father, having dedicated his life to his three girls after the passing of their mother, they're growing up too quickly for his over-protective instincts.

Dan and the girls pile into the family car for the annual family gathering at his parents' home in New England. His parents are concerned about Dan's constant fussing over the girls and neglect of his own needs. En route, Dan meets an attractive woman, Marie, at a book store. When she mistakes him for a sales clerk, he plays along and gets into a conversation with her, eventually exchanging phone numbers, even though she is clear that she is in a relationship and unavailable.

Later, at his parents' house, he ecstatically confides in his family that he has met someone he really likes. Before he can explain further, his brother, Mitch brings his in new girlfriend to share in the delightful news. The problem is that Mitch's new girlfriend is Marie.

They pretend not to know each other as the annual gathering gets under way, but, for once in his life, Dan feels he reallly wants to put his wants first. How will his a decision and its hilarious consequences affect his family and the values he has tried to instil in his own daughters?