Lars And The Real Girl
Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 104 June 2008
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Meet Lars’ girlfriend Bianca – she’s a real doll.
The Lowdown: An odd but sweet guy named Lars finds love in the form of sociable brunette Bianca. The only problem is that she’s a life-sized doll. As Lars’ friends and family indulge his delusion, he finds himself torn between his love for Bianca and his feeling towards co-worker Margo.
Review: Ryan Gosling has made quite a name for himself in recent years. After standout stints in Full Nelson and The Notebook, he returns to the screen with arguably his finest, and certainly his most endearing, role yet. Dominating the film as social misfit and incredibly shy nice-guy Lars, it’s bewildering as to how the stint failed to catch the eye of the Academy. Luckily, they didn’t make the same mistake by failing to nominate Nancy Oliver’s warm, tender and witty screenplay.
After years of constantly avoiding contact with the other members of his small Midwestern community, Lars finally comes out of his shell when he reveals that he’s got himself a girlfriend – a life-sized sex doll called Bianca. Seeing as the strange delusion actually improves his social skills, the whole town decides to go along with it and treat Bianca just like she’s a real person.
Never lingering on the potential seediness that would usually be associated with a comedy involving a sex doll, Lars And The Real Girl is instead a moving look at small town life and the importance of community. A tale of an unconventional love and boundless friendship, it’s undeniably sappy at times, but then it wouldn’t be much of a movie if it wasn’t. Best thing to do is to just go with the charming flow and enjoy one of the nicest films of 2007.
FILM: 8 EXTRAS: 6
DVD Info:
US Certificate: PG-13
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson
Directed By: Craig Gillespie, 2007
Distributor: 20th Century Fox/MGM
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 107 minutes
Price: £16.99
Special Features:
Scene Selection
‘The Real Story Of Lars And The Real Girl’ Featurette
‘A Real Leading Lady’ Featurette
Deleted Scene
Trailers
