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The central setting of Dan in Real Life is a huge annual family gathering on the New England coast—and it’s no dysfunctional family, either. Sure, one of the older boys has never been married, and another is a widower with three girls, but everyone pretty much gets along and there’s no hint of a Brady Bunch or Rosie O’Donnell moment in anyone’s future.

A lot of audiences will react to such a scenario as if it’s something straight out of a fantasy novel or Religious Right campaign tract. But it all rings true from the standpoint of the filmmakers, who made a conscious choice to go a different direction from the vast majority of mainstream films. The film’s totally clean content, says screenwriter Pierce Gardner, is “completely intentional. … I’d like to go to a [premiere of one of my movies] and take my kids.”

Director Peter Hedges seconds that sentiment. Dan in Real Life is only his second directorial effort, and the first with such a large cast. When fellow filmmakers would visit the movie’s set, they’d be aghast at the complexity of several of the film’s scenes. Hedges was aware that filming Dan in Real Life “was hard,” he says. “But I thought it was because I had no talent.” Thanks to his friends, though, and with two films under his belt, he now understands that directing a film is simply a huge responsibility. And he stays committed to his family because of that. They have to be able to share in the experience in some way. “I won’t go away to make a movie that my kids can’t see.” (cont. below)

Stars Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell are also in happily committed relationships, and both have children of their own. Of his daughter, Carell oberves, “She understands irony at age six, which kind of freaks my wife and I out.” On one occasion, he asked her opinion of some new shoes. Her response? “Hmmm… No, I’m not liking ‘em.”

Okay, sure, it’s still possible for the nuclear family to succeed in today’s world—even if you work in Hollywood. But what about the big, happy, extended family portrayed in Dan in Real Life? That’s not real life any more, is it?

Turns out, yes—it is. The story was inspired by real-life annual gatherings that Gardner’s family has, and bears a lot of resemblance to annual get-togethers that Carell’s wife’s family holds. She comes from “a family of six brothers and sisters,” says Carell, and the first time he met them all was at one of those gatherings. Over 100 family members were in attendance!

So such family unity may be outside the scope of many or our experiences. But Dan in Real Life—and its crew and cast—are here to tell us not to give up hope. It’s possible, and it’s real life, too.