User Reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. Guilt while laughing is an unusual experience ... well except while watching Lars and Bianca. This film is hilarious, touching and insightful. The product of genius writing by Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under) and solid direction by Craig Gillespie ("Mr. Woodcock"), this film will force you to step back and think about how you treat those who might be a little different or struggle with social interaction.

Ryan Gosling is absolutely amazing as Lars. His character redefines "being in a shell". Wounded by the pain of losing his parents and literally frightened by human touch, Gosling exudes the humanity of a injured child. The real guilty fun starts once Bianca is delivered. Bianca is the anatomically correct molded doll whom Lars treats as a real girlfriend. The ride picks up steam when his relatives and then the entire town elect to play along.

The entire cast is excellent with standout performances by Emily Mortimer ("Match Point"), Paul Schneider, the great Patricia Clarkson as the very wise and very human doctor, and Kelli Garner ("Thumbsucker") looking very homely as the co-worker with a crush on Lars.

Not sure how wide of audience this will find, but I highly recommend to all adults ... it is not a film for kids. Hopefully the academy takes notice of the film, the writing and the acting ... all top notch.

"Lars and the Real Girl" may come off as an unrealistic, over-the-top, completely unfathomable fairytale for the mentally ill while the line between realism and fantasy is tightly walked. Some of the actions of the characters are questionable- mostly with the way the townspeople treat Lars and his delusions. Lars is incredibly shy. He sits alone in the dark. He'll make up any excuse he can muster to avoid even a simple breakfast at his brother's house (He lives in the garage; separated from the house of course, and completely isolated / detached from human contact). Lars struggles to connect with people, which is due to years of neglect from his father, and the death of his mother during child birth. His brother left the first chance he got, so Lars has never felt love, nor has he been given the chance to share his love for others.

One day Lars' co-worker is surfing internet porn and comes across a real sex doll. He shows this to Lars, who doesn't give it too much attention, but we see the wheels turning. Later we see a box dropped off at his garage, and then it all starts. This will be Lars' way of giving all this love that he has to give to someone that won't do anything but accept it. Someone who isn't concerned with the superficial, and someone who he can connect with. She's someone who won't crowd him or make him feel uncomfortable. She will support him.

The film slowly and gradually morphs into a story of love and acceptance. There's more to the story than just a simple sex doll toted around town by a lonely guy looking for attention. The film has a heart, and that heartbeat is pulsated through the screen by the incredible performance from one of the most talented young actors in the business, Ryan Gosling. I honestly don't know if another actor could have pulled this off. He hardly ever has eye contact with any single person in the film. He's given a flower and told to give it to someone nice, but when Margo comes strolling along, he flings the flower into the bushes. Then he runs away. Margo likes him and he likes her, but neither are any good at expressing their feelings. Lars is searching for that special someone and like a lot of us, we can relate when we meet the one that has it all. You just can't seem to find the words, or you can find them and just can't say them.

The film raises the question about treatment of the mentally ill. Do we really need medication that wipes out their feelings and emotions, or do we just need the basics? Love, care, support, and acceptance for who you are. They accept Bianca because of Lars and Lars finds love and acceptance. He learns human interaction.

This is a rare film where we see a group of people do good - even though their method may be questioned - in order to help someone struggling with an illness. This isn't a film that's laugh out loud funny, a few occasional ones here and there, but I found myself smiling throughout. The final act had me choked up. It created a much stronger reaction than I had anticipated. Gosling had me laughing and nearly brought to tears all at the same time. Paul Schneider was also exceptional. The film does a great job of questioning normality and the treatment of the mentally ill. This is more like a fable and some might question the reality of it (and knock it for being unrealistic), but if they do, then they're missing the entire point. "Lars and the Real Girl" is a near modern masterpiece that has a message. The ending is predictable, but without the ending the film isn't complete and the message is vastly different.

It's always a treat to walk into a theater and leave after viewing something great - something I didn't expect.

The independent film 'Lars and the Real Girl' is just that. It's promoted as a comedy about a guy who's in love with a sex doll, yet the film is the type everyone should see and you can even consider taking your kids. (It's rated PG-13)

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is an introvert, who holds an office job and lives in a northern mid-west town. His pad is a modified garage next to his deceased parents' home. His brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and pregnant, caring sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer) live in the large house on the property.

One day Lars meets a friend (the doll) on the internet and has her shipped to his home. Being the gentleman that he is, Lars asks Gus and Karin if his quest can stay in the main house until they get to know each other better. This sets off a chain of events that involve the local doctor, minister, his co-workers and ultimately, the entire town.

It's a story of openness and the importance of allowing what you first think is unacceptable and different, is actually completely acceptable. The film draws you in, changes your initial beliefs and provides a wonderful message at the same time. It's a heartwarming, feel good film that will stay with you long after you leave the theater. Lars and his ''real girl' taught me more about life and love. It will do the same for you.

I just saw this movie last night with friends and I'll admit I'd never heard of it. I knew it was worth watching when I was told Ryan Gosling was in it so I was mildly excited to see it. The first thirty minutes of the film are pretty damn funny and to some, almost hilarious. Very well done comedic acting that is real, believable, and still amazing to watch. Part of what makes the first thirty minutes so funny is because we know about the doll, and we can't wait for the first reactions. After that the story takes a wonderfully surprising turn to a really touching light drama. I was very surprised but I really loved it. A lot of people laughed throughout the film, and I was very much bothered by that. There is a reason this man is pretending that a "sex" doll is a real person, and its a very internal serious pain thats hes going through, which for me, understanding that part of the story, I felt it was mildly inappropriate for people to laugh, but I understood with time. Near the end of the film it gets a little predictable for one, some would say major, plot turn, but not so predictable as to ruin it. About 5 to 10 minutes before it happens you see it coming, but other than that it was superbly acted by Ryan Gosling who has nothing but an incredible career in front of him, and good supporting roles as well. This is a very enjoyable film, which I recommend to anyone and everyone. It really seems to have something for everyone, but be prepared it might make you laugh, cry, or both. Its a very very good movie, and definitely worth seeing in theaters.

A delusional young guy (Ryan Gosling) strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.

I heard of this film years ago but dragged my feet because all I knew was the most basic premise, and I had no interest in a film about a man's love affair with his doll. Luckily, I gave it a shot and found out it is nothing like that (in fact, there is nothing remotely sexual in the film).

Gosling is something of a heartthrob, so this might be considered playing against type. This is not his strongest film (perhaps that would be "Blue Valentine") but it is a good role for him, and I thoroughly enjoyed his take on a weird, introverted young man.

Lo and behold, a film that still believes in simple human kindness.

There's been a severe lack of that on our movie and television screens lately, which is why I found "Lars and the Real Girl" utterly irresistible. I imagine this is the kind of movie that's either going to work for you or it's not. I can guarantee that if you go into it and pick apart all the ways in which it's not realistic, you're not going to enjoy it.

Ryan Gosling has rocketed to the top of the list of my favorite contemporary actors. He's given two of the best performances in the last two years: here in "Lars" and last year in "Half Nelson." The success of "Lars and the Real Girl" depends almost entirely on Gosling's ability to sell this character to the audience, and he does so flawlessly. Lars is a sweet teddy bear of a man who also happens to be intensely lonely. He orders a life-size and anatomically correct sex doll and proceeds to make a companion of her, taking her to parties, to church, to family dinners. A psychiatrist (a marvelous, as usual, Patricia Clarkson) tells the family that the best thing they can do for Lars is to encourage his delusion until he works through whatever is causing it; they relay that to the townspeople, who take it to heart. As a result, Lars's "girlfriend" is completely accepted by the town, and even gets elected to the school board.

Ultimately, "Lars" probably isn't very realistic, but isn't it nice to think it could be? That a group of people could be this warm, kind and accepting, simply because they happen to like somebody and want to see him get better. The film is full of wonderful performances from everyone. In addition to Gosling and Clarkson, Emily Mortimer shines as Lars's caring and worried sister-in-law.

It really irritates me that critics were divided on this movie on the basis of it pushing the boundaries of credibility, when they almost unanimously praised "Gone Baby Gone," a film so melodramatic and heavy handed as to be no less implausible, and that goes down as two of the most unpleasant hours I've spent in a movie theatre for a long time. Has our culture now decided that a film about good kind people is too unrealistic to stomach, and that the only movies that ring true are ones about human depravity?

So far, "Lars and the Real Girl" is one of my favorite films of the year.

Grade: A

There is just no way to explain the plot of this film and not have it sound rather silly and this film is anything but foolish frivolity. I found it utterly charming and carefully and delicately directed. There are moments of belly shaking humor and quiet tears as Ryan Gosling brilliantly evolves from a reclusive soul with the help of a silicone woman and a kind hearted community. I want to know these endearing people. There is a moral point to this film, perhaps more than one. Don't be put off by the synopsis, or trailer. This is not your standard Hollywood fare. See it for the humor, or the humanity, either way, you will be glad you did. I see very, very few films twice- this one is on my list.

I have been watching Ryan Gosling's movies since he worked in the Notebook and quite frankly, I have to admit that the guy can do it all. He can play a nice guy as well as a Jewish skinhead, a lady killer, a cool driver, and in every movie he looks credible and spot on. in Lars and the real girl, he plays a man in his mid twenties who is extremely shy. One day, to every one surprise, he appears to his brother's house with his girlfriend who is none other than a doll he bought over the internet. Seeing that he seems to act so naturally with his new "girlfriend", everyone around play along with it and accept this strange girlfriend as someone extra in the family and friend circle. Quite an original movie, which is rare to find. Not the best by any means but well worth a watch. For Gosling's acting or simply for being to make a movie that doesn't look or tries to copy any other one out there!

This is one of the most remarkably original films that I have ever seen, providing a refreshing comment that we can learn and expand our horizons from each other if we approach everyone's foibles with a degree of kindness. It is laugh-out-loud funny, but it is also thought-provoking and moving.

Ryan Gosling provides a spectacular tour-de-force as a dysfunctional young man in a small town who only begins to blossom when he starts a "relationship" with an expensive love doll. When he takes the risk of introducing "Bianca" to the tightly-knit community in which he lives, the "relationship" is met with an unexpectedly heartwarming response.

Strong support is provided by the always-refreshing Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, and by Kelli Garner as the sweet thing who becomes "Bianca's" rival. But Gosling provides the heart and soul of this remarkable film that never strikes a false note.

The movie has an incredibly powerful and positive message about the ability of a community to heal and nurture a troubled soul by treating it with acceptance and compassion. It should be required viewing by anyone who feels alone in the world.

Lars (Gosling) is an introvert. He can't connect with other people, unable to make meaningful relationships. After being shown a website for a sex doll, he orders one and kicks off a relationship. The doll can't make him feel uncomfortable and only thinks whatever he wants it to think. The film follows Lars' relationship with his doll and how those around him deal with the situation and eventually help him out of his shell.

Lars and the Real Girl is one of those pseudo-indie movies that get churned out every year for no other reason than Oscar buzz. That stamp is all over Lars and the Real Girl... From Ryan Gosling doing his own twist on a Forest Gump type character to a script that is trying to rip open your chest so it can tug at your heartstrings.

I know that opening sounds a bit condescending and it's probably not totally fair. Lars and the Real Girl does have a lot going for it. In general all of the performances are excellent. Ryan Gosling does a great job with the title role, even if his performance strays into little more than Gump-like mannerisms in many places. Paul Schneider and Emily Schneider are wonderful as the co-leads who must deal most intimately with Lars relationship "issues". The script starts off wonderfully, laying out the premise and introducing a lead character that you can both readily identify with and yet still find peculiar. There is a very heartwarming, if maybe slightly hard to swallow, aspect to how the townspeople all pitch in and do their part to help Lars. This really is a fairly typical "feel good" movie that's been kicked around and painted an off-color of gray in an attempt to gain some "indie cred".

The problems crop up after about 40 minutes of screen time. By then, the script has laid all it's cards on the table. The conclusion is never in question... and there are no twists or revelations to be found. It's just a matter of lumbering along for the next hour while the film hits all the required landmarks before delivering us to the final destination. We are asked to continue paying attention to a character, for scene after scene, that everybody has already completely solved by the midway point of the film. While Gosling is generally excellent in the lead role, the character he is playing just isn't interesting enough to carry the load for so long. Ultimately, the movie buckles under it's own weight well before the final credits roll.

This could have been an excellent short film, but there just wasn't enough script here to justify the feature length running time. I still enjoyed things for the most part... helped primarily by the excellent performances from the cast.

7/10

Story was good. Idea was so good. Overall project was so good. Characters were so well written but someone whole movie felt off. Like first act is good. Second act felt little off. And Ryan Gosling acting was not good at all. I know it's very challenging but it didn't felt good. They all rushed the movie a lot. They should have spend more time shorting and going slow to get perfect emotion. Female characters were so good. Felt too good to be real. Specially the wife of his brother. She was so good felt too gold to be real. Who movie. Idea was good. Don't feel connected because they didn't make the scene's emotional believable or thouching second act of film was so bad.

I'm pretty sure that most folks who watch this will have the intended notions of what it is all about, what with the well established film templates of welcome delusion and the visitor who transforms a town.

But I'd like to point out one narrative device that makes this work as well as it does. Its the fact that the story is presented through the eyes of different women we see. There's a sort of marvelous mix.

One is the one we know a lot about. She's the pregnant sister in law played by the under-appreciated Emily Mortimer. Her pregnancy, we learn, triggers a problem.

A second is Patricia Clarkson's town doctor. She's the detective, our questioner. These sequences "explain" the story.

Then we have a love interest. This clumsy girl is played by Kelli Garner who every other time we've seen her has been boobs and smile. She's the woman who is as clueless as Lars. This character is all simple mannerisms and no soul, but that's just right.

And finally there is the doll, who we surprisingly adopt as a character as readily as the town does. She does have presence and is a surrogate for an offscreen girl. Her face does actually change throughout the film, these minor changes having a profound effect because they are so subtle.

These four women orbit around each other and the story, discovering and reporting various bits about it. Lars is there, but the story isn't about him at all; its about how stories are seen.

Its good writing, good narrative dynamics. You should see it on that score.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Nancy Oliver deserves kudos for writing an attempt like 'Lars And The Real Girl'. The screenplay focuses on a shy, lonely, socially inept young man who develops a relationship with a life-sized, anatomically-correct doll he orders online. The idea is so so fascinating, and the captain of the ship, Craig Gillespie directs the film with ease.

The other prime reason why 'Lars And The Real Girl' works, is because of it's more than perfect casting.

Performances are astounding: Emily Mortimer steals the show. She delivers a performance that will surely be remembered for a long, long time. As Lars's Sis-In-Law, Emily gets into the skin of the character and, as said, delivers a knock-out performance. Ryan Gosling as Lars is excellent. Note his work in the penultimate 10 minutes, and you'll realize that he indeed is a supremely talented actor. Paul Schneider as Lars's brother is proficient. Kelli Garner is first-rate. And how can we forget Lars's lady love Bianca... she's indeed pretty Lars!

'Lars And The Real Girl' is a must see for those who enjoy different stuff. Thumbs Up!

I really liked how this film really focused a lot on a very sensitive topic. Mental illness, with all its struggles, help to unite the people together in the face of adversity, all to help Lars. How the community just came together for him, that was unbelievably touching. The acting too, was superb. An all around, mostly great film.

However, there was just one very huge flaw in my eyes. This film would have been perfect if it were about 1h 20mins. The center just felt overly long and unnecessary. As raw the emotions are, for a slow paced movie to be plateau for so long just makes for a hugely boring film. And for that, for a film that would have been a solid 8 or even maybe 9 in my eyes, was knocked down to a 6. But hey, to each their own, it does has it own charms and if it seems like a strength to you, then I need not go any further, just watch away.

My wife and I went to see this on by birthday, and I was expecting it to be sorta quirky and off beat. I was surprised to find that this was a touching and humorous relationship-driven drama.

As already accounted here, Ryan Gosling gave a performance that many MANY of the popular actors could only DREAM of. He was brilliant, and his portrayal of Lars covered so many emotional dynamics.

However, I am going to write about Paul Schneider, who played Lars' brother, Gus. He was so subtle and funny, so spot on! His side-arc concerning being the older brother in a troubled family. . . just genius.

I would recommend this movie to everyone.

I just saw a screening in LA and a packed house of SAG members LOVED this film! Ryan Gosling's performance hearkens back an equally moving and effective performance from Peter Sellers in Being There, which Gosling and director Craig Gilespie admitted was about their only reference point. Gosling's character is sweet, good natured, and painfully shy and is the heart and soul of this film. His performance as Lars (along with patient direction and a wonderful script) is the prime reason that it all works. I laughed HARD throughout, but by the end I shed real tears over the plot and characters - and I thought doing so over a talking pig was bad! This is a performance WAY out of the ordinary for Gosling, and most of today's young actors could not have pulled it off. Expect an Oscar nomination for Gosling and for the screenplay.

The premise sounds like something straight out of a sleazy porno: A man falls for an anatomically correct doll. But the truth about "Lars and the Real Girl" is the polar opposite of what it sounds like. Craig Gillespie's comedy-drama is sweet, touching, and provocative. There are also a few laughs to be sure, but it's not a comedy like "There's Something about Mary."

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is as anti-social as they come. Not in a violent way, but in a sad, lonely way. He lives by himself in a little garage in the backyard of Gus and Karin's (Paul Schneider and Emily Mortimer)house, his brother and sister-in-law . One day Lars announces that he's got a girlfriend, who turns out to be a sex doll named Bianca. Gus and Karin are understandably flabbergasted, so they take Lars (and Bianca) to the local shrink, who says Lars has a delusion, and everyone has to go along with it. Meanwhile, Lars begins to become attracted to Margo (Kelli Garner).

Nancy Oliver's script is actually very simple, but it is made into a film with such tenderness and care that it becomes a complex movie. "Lars and the Real Girl" is as much about Lars' relationship with Bianca as it is about his personal growth. A lot of stuff happens in the movie, yet at the same time, not much does. Most of what does is very subtle, and has a lot to do with character (specifically Lars), instead of grand plot twists.

There are some movies that only work if everyone is on the same wavelength. Would "A Christmas Story" have worked if there was a character who didn't contain the spirit that flowed through Ralphie? "Lars and the Real Girl" is similar in that respect. Some strange things happen in the movie, but in order for that to work, we have to believe that everyone does what they do not because the script tells them to, but because their characters would do it. This film has a terrific cast with perfect performances filling every role.

Ryan Gosling has continued to prove that he's a force to be reckoned with in every performance he's been given. He has the gift of extraordinary versatility, and here he sets the tone for everything else in the movie to revolve around. It's one of his strongest performances.

Emily Mortimer has usually been reduced to thankless supporting roles, but hopefully now that will change. Mortimer is terrific here,showing true sympathy, and at times frustration, towards her troubled brother-in-law. Paul Schneider is also good as the older brother, who wants to help Lars, but thinks the doctor is nuts. Special mention goes to Kelli Garner for creating a character that is not only likable, but we believe that she is the perfect girl for Lars' affections because of her personality and not because the movie tells us to. Patricia Clarkson is great as the doctor who seems to be the only one who thinks that everything that goes on is perfectly normal.

Independent films are usually marketed in a very funny way. The studios that pick them up for distribution usually market them in the most appealing way, which is understandable, even though they are not like that at all. Like the somewhat inferior "Juno," "Lars and the Real Girl" is marketed as a comedy, and though it certainly contains a few smiles and laughs, it's actually more of a light-hearted introspective drama. It's funny that these movies are being marketed like this because I imagine the people who see these movies are more interested in the plot and actors and don't have to be subjected to this kind of deception. Nevertheless, I guess it's worth it because "Lars and the Real Girl" is definitely a movie to check out.

However his journey touched everyone around him and brought an already tight knit community together even more. Just a beautiful piece of cinema and one of the most interesting and unique movies I've ever seen. Ryan Gosling at his finest. This Deserves 10/10 for sure

A posse of filmmakers somehow made a romantic drama about a 27-year-old man falling in love with a sex doll work. My condolences.

Lars and the Real Girl at times is a movie that feels a bit transparent and predictable. That being said, there are still at least two fundamental factors that make this film function adequately:

1) The alluring and notably touching look into an individual overcoming a personality flaw through means of delusion. 2) Ryan Gosling's convincing performance as a hardcore introvert-which was, yes, exquisite.

Cute. (Verdict: B)