Lars and the Real Girl: Review & Trailer

Movie: Lars and the Real Girl	On DVD:	April 15, 2008
Runtime: 106 minutes	In Theaters:	Oct. 12, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sex-related content	Gecko Rating:
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It’s the story of a shy guy who buys a life-size, anatomically-correct female doll. And yet, the story manages to be sweet, funny and tender, even if the premise is a little weird.

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is a sweet, painfully shy fellow who lives in a shed behind his brother’s house. Oh, Lars functions well enough. He holds down a job and goes to church regularly. But when it comes to human interaction, he’s seriously lacking in social skills. And he really hates it when other people touch him.

So when Lars gets the idea from a guy at work to buy a life-size doll off the Internet, he goes for it. It’s cool, because he actually picked out the doll’s features and family history. I think he could even have sex with it if he wanted, but…

…Lars isn’t interested in that. He just wants a friend. Someone who’ll stand by him no matter what, but without all the messiness of real-life relationships. He names the doll Bianca.

The weird thing is that his brother Gus (Paul Schneider), Gus’ pregnant wife, Karin (Emily Mortimer), and the entire village take the doll seriously. I think they realize that Lars has trouble interacting with real people, and they support the way he’s chosen to work through it. So they talk with Bianca at gatherings, take her out for dinner, give her a new hairdo…basically, everything you’d do with a real person. 

Even the local doctor, played with lovely seriousness by Patricia Clarkson, examines Bianca and begins treating her for an undisclosed illness. In reality, the doc is helping Lars to work through his shyness.

But a problem arises when Lars begins to have feelings for a girl named Margo (Kelli Garner) who works in his office.

Directed by Craig Gillespie — who directed commercials for 16 years before helming the dreadful Mr. Woodcock last year — this movie won’t wow you with its high-energy intensity, but that’s exactly why I like it. The story rolls along pleasantly, much the same as The Station Agent, another favorite Patricia Clarkson film, and will leave you thinking about what complex creatures we are, and how forgiving and touching people can be in their own sweet way.

The soundtrack is also lovely, featuring tunes like “Crashing” by Nicole Cherié Saletta and James Harry, “All Around Me” by Jack Maher, and “Sorry” by Matt McMullen and Clay Davis.

DVD Extras: Featurette – “The Real Story of ‘Lars and the Real Girl’; Featurette – “A Real Leading Lady”; Deleted Scene.

Trailer:

Images: Lars and the Real Girl, MGM, 2007