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Lars and the Real Girl by Craig Gillespie
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DVD Cover InformationActor: Emily Mortimer, Kelli Garner, Paul Schneider, R.D. Reid, Ryan Gosling Director: Craig Gillespie Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT Producer: Bruce Toll Producer: John Cameron Producer: Peter Berg Producer: Sarah Aubrey Producer: Sidney Kimmel Producer: Whitney Brown Writer: Nancy Oliver DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed) Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 106 minutes DVD Release Date: 2008-04-15 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Lars and the Real GirlMovie Review: Offbeat, quirky and touching love story Summary: 5 Stars This is not a movie for everyone. People who think every utterance regarding mental illness should be dealt with in a serious vein will probably be offended, if not outraged, by this movie. Likewise, those who have little tolerance for fantasy probably won't like it either.
But if you like good movies, it's a charmer.
Lars has had a dysfunctional childhood (like who hasn't?) and it plays out leaving him isolated in his community. In search of love, Lars is introduced to the wonderful world of, uhm, sex aids. In this case, a lifelike replica of a woman, whom Lars endows with a background.
Instead of rejecting Lars as delusional, his family (brother Gus and his wife Karin), the family doctor, clergyman, workers and soon most of the town embrace their new resident, Bianca, as if she were real. This is the first of the love stories in this movie: a family and town that love Lars to the point of tolerating and humoring his delusion.
Lars has an interesting job: he never appears to do any work, but he does have a thing - not a relationship, but a "thing" - going with Margo, his co-worker. Margo clearly has her heart set on winning Lars. But Lars is painfully shy - and besides, he is involved with his sex aid, Bianca.
Bit by bit, Lars sinks further into his delusion, but at the same time, he becomes less introverted. At last Margo gets Lars to spend some time with him and . . .
The conclusion of the film over the last half hour or so is wonderfully warm and not unlike the Capra movies of the 1930s.
This is an adorable film. Yes, the underlying premise is weird, but it's pulled off well.
Jerry
Summary of Lars and the Real GirlSometimes you find love where you'd least expect it. Just ask Lars (Academy Award-Nominee* Ryan Gosling), a sweet but quirky guy who thinks he's found the girl of his dreams in a life-sized doll named Bianca. Lars is completely content with his artificial girlfriend, but when he develops feelings for Margo, an attractive co-worker, Lars finds himself lost in a hilariously unique love triangle, hoping to somehow discover the real meaning of true love. Offbeat and endearing, this romantic comedy takes a fresh look at dating and relationships and dares to ask the question: What's so wrong with being happy? To some, Lars and the Real Girl will play as comedy; to others, tragedy. Though Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) allows Lars Lindstrom (a mustachioed Ryan Gosling, miles away from Half Nelson) a happy ending, the road is far from smooth. This rumpled Midwesterner couldn't be more miserable. His brother, Gus (Paul Schneider, All the Real Girls), and sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing), fall over themselves to cheer him up, but Lars cannot be moved; he's been like that since childhood. Then a porn-addicted co-worker hips him to the lifelike Real Doll. The next thing everyone knows, Lars has a new girlfriend named Bianca. She's from Brazil, she's shy, and she uses a wheelchair. She's also made of silicon. (Because Lars is a devout Christian, hanky-panky is out of the question.) Since he's finally emerging from his shell, his doctor, Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), advises Gus and Karin to play along with the "delusion." Soon the whole town, including Margo (Kelli Garner), who harbors a not-so-secret crush on her officemate, gets in on the action, forcing Lars to rejoin the human race or crawl deeper into psychosis. Written by Six Feet Under's Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl is built around such a preposterous premise, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, the actors play it straight. Gosling does his best to make Lars sympathetic, but Schneider and Mortimer, fully convincing in their concern, are the true heart and soul of this odd little film. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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