This is a unique little movie that deserves to be seen.
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Some films are just plain odd. One that quickly comes to mind is "Being John Malkovich." Odd isn´t a bad thing and quirky little comedies such as "Being John Malkovich" and "Lars and the Real Girl" are a refreshing break from the cliché ridden mainstream comedies that have plagued Hollywood for the past few years. Originality is something that needs to be applauded and enjoyed and it is a rarity that something as offbeat as "Lars and the Real Girl" can pull off its unusual flavoring and be both entertaining and believable.
One quick glance over the plot summary on the rear packaging and another quick glance at the name of ´stars´ attached to the film would probably send most consumers moving down the new releases aisle for the latest big blockbuster. It is basic economics tied to the human condition that has us spend our hard earned money on films that are safe and familiar. We want to make sure we enjoy what we spend our money on and in today´s economic situation it is unlikely that many will drop the twenty dollars on a quirky film such as "Lars and the Real Girl." The title doesn´t sound very safe, the plot seems absurd and silly and the cast is driven by Ryan Gosling.
To cave in to standard operating procedure and ignore "Lars and the Real Girl" is a mistake. It took your faithful reviewer a pair of days to pull away from the sprawling box set of "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" and place "Lars and the Real Girl" into my preferred movie player. I knew very little of Ryan Gosling and Maxim´s quote of "A whimsical, funny, moving film!" was just not enough to get me past a film which advertises a love triangle consisting of a quirky guy, an attractive co-worker and a life-sized doll named Bianca. I must admit that the film did not succeed in advertising itself to me upon my initial exploration of the packaging.
However, once I inserted the film into my DVD player, I was quickly hooked. The story by Nancy Oliver is certainly different, but it packs a great amount of emotion into its quite unusual story. What the box failed to mention was that the primary character Lars (Ryan Gosling) suffers from mental illness that is a result of his loneliness and poor upbringing by his widowed father. From the early scenes where Lars is a socially challenged young man who is frightented by the flirtations of Margo (Kelli Garner) to the moment when he declares to his brother Gus (Paul Scheider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) that he has a girlfriend and introduces them to the doll named Bianca, I found "Lars and the Real Girl" to be quite engaging.
What I found very interesting with the plot and direction the film takes is how the actors and director Craig Gillespie manage to spin Bianca as a person that is genuinely cared for by Lars. During the first half of the film it is easy to take Gus´ view that Lars has completely lost his marbles, but after a few sessions with psychologist Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) it is revealed that Lars has some deep rooted emotional problems and that he is using Bianca as a manner in which to feel comfortable with his own issues and learn to deal with his problems and perhaps have a meaningful relationship with a real girl such as the cute, perky and interested Margo. The second half of the film finds the town banding together to help Lars and their acceptance of Bianca brings character to the doll and when Lars finally breaks his relationship with Bianca, it feels genuinely sorrowful.
Gosling brings a caring, but lonely Lars to life. He is a character that is well liked by those around him, but he is terribly aloof and has difficulties melding into society. When Lars first threw away a flower when Margo gave him a wide-smiled hello, I could relate the character of Lars to some friends I had growing up. He is that boy who will gladly help the elders of his community, but the simple thought of a woman´s tough scares him to death. Then, as Lars engages in a deep and meaningful relationship with a doll, Gosling conveys a warmth and compassion that most women only dream about in their love affairs. While the story of "Lars and the Real Girl" is witty and well-done, the film is carried by the shoulders of Ryan Gosling.
"Lars and the Real Girl" is a highly original romantic comedy that features a sex doll as a leading lady and unlike "Weird Science" or "Mannequin," the fake girl does not come to life. The film is more about an outcast that falls in love with his artificial perfect woman. It is a deep and engaging look at a young man who did not have the best upbringing and suffers emotional scarring that prevents him from having a meaningful and serious relationship with an interested female. "Lars and the Real Girl" looks at the effects of loneliness and desperation, but does so in a light-hearted and caring manner. It does not poke fun or humiliate those with mental illness, but provides a warm and caring portrait of the root of one´s problems that can lead to delusional mental illness.
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[release]23716[/release]