The concept behind Lars and the Real Girl is nothing if not original –
introvert orders blow-up doll off the Internet and then parades her
around town as though she’s a real person.
Sounds like a comedy, and make no mistake, Lars and the Real Girl is very funny at times. But the film from director Craig Gillespie and Six Feet Under writer Nancy Oliver is so much more than that – in fact it’s one of the sweetest and smartest films to come out since last year’s Little Miss Sunshine.
Ryan Gosling stars as the lovable Lars, who lives in the garage adjacent to the home where his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and his expectant wife Karen (Emily Mortimer) reside. He mainly keeps to himself, despite the townspeople’s efforts to fix him up with someone special. Then one day Lars comes out of his shell with the announcement that he’s met a girl on the Internet – Gus and Karen are thrilled, until they find out that that “girl” is an adult-size, anatomically-correct sex doll named Bianca.
Their enthusiasm turns to horror when they realize Lars sees Bianca as his girlfriend and is completely smitten with her. He’s even come up with an entire back story for her, from the reason why she needs a wheelchair to get around, to her work as a missionary, to the tragic loss of her parents.
It’s all too much for Gus to take but the patient Karen convinces him to take the advice of their family doctor, Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), who suggests Lars is deluded, and in order for him to get better everyone must go along with the delusion, i.e., pretend Bianca is who Lars says she is. Because the town’s inhabitants are so fond of Lars, they do.
Bianca provides a running sight gag throughout Lars and the Real Girl, and it really never gets old, especially after Lars borrows some of Karen’s decidedly conservative clothes to dress his beloved in: we see Bianca in church, Bible on lap, Bianca in the hair salon, Bianca “reading” to kids. It’s hilarious to see how the residents creatively go out of their way to bring the blow-up doll into their lives.
Of course the reasons why Lars has done what he’s done are less funny, and the movie treats his condition in a bittersweet, but not overly maudlin, way. I wasn’t at all surprised to see that the writer, Nancy Oliver, has penned episodes of Six Feet Under – Lars has a similar feel to it, darkly funny, sad and life-affirming all at once.
Schneider, Mortimer, Gosling, and Bianca in a scene from Lars and the Real Girl
The actors are universally great – Mortimer as Karen is wonderful, especially in a scene where she challenges Lars’s assertion that nobody cares about him; Clarkson shines as the kind doctor who helps him along the road to recovery; and Schneider plays Lars’s sole blood relative with the right mix of disbelief and guilt. He also gets some of the films funniest lines and his delivery is spot-on.
But it’s Gosling who’s masterful as Lars. Turning in another stellar performance after his Oscar-nominated work in Half Nelson, Gosling is the reason this film succeeds. If the audience doesn’t believe that this damaged soul has true feelings for his plastic co-star, the film doesn’t work. He makes it entirely plausible, and there are scenes between Lars and Bianca that break your heart. The 26-year-old Canadian has become one of the finest actors of his generation and this film could very well earn him more nominations come the 2008 awards season.
As for Bianca – well, the film would have been nothing without her. Still, I doubt the Academy will be creating a Best Performance By A Blow-Up Doll category anytime soon.
Posted by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
Lars and the Real Girl (**** out of 5)
Rated: PG-13/14A (Canada)
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Patricia Clarkson
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Written by: Nancy Oliver
Related links: Official site, IMDB page, Apple trailer
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