11. Lars and the Real Girl (2009); The search for true love begins outside the box.

Lars and the Real Girl

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Written by Nancy Oliver

Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider

This film follows Lars Lindstrom, a delusional young guy who falls in love with a plastic doll named Bianca that he orders from the internet. The story revolves around him and his instabilities and how his neighborhood society comes to accept his newfound relationship.

This movie was really cute. It had this sense of awkward loneliness’ that was entertaining, but also presented the audience with this slow simplistic life much different than what we are used to. I thought that the lack of technology in the film really helped portray his plain lifestyle. Technology is supposed to make everything easier and faster, but in this film he didn’t need it. The computers were old and fragile; I don’t remember seeing a cell phone or any sort of music playing device. I know I am young make it made me remember and think of a time when those devices weren’t necessary for daily needs.

I felt like the plot was a web of paths broken by opposing decisions. Every choice made throughout the movie seems to have an opposite. Lars chose to do something about his long lived loneliness’ by purchasing a sex doll online. (Something so unconventional it seems like an opposite.) Lars’ brother and sister-in-law were both scared of his condition, the sister-in-law chose to pretend that Bianca was real and his brother chose to be rude and blunt about Lars’ insanity. The doctor they took Lars to see chose to pretend to be treating Bianca’s “sickness” but was really treating him.

What I thought was really interesting was the decisions the community chose regarding Lars and Bianca. At first they were skeptical then accepted her as part of the neighborhood. They gave her a haircut, found her a job, and spoke to her like she was real. I can only wish that someday I live in a society that would accept someone’s illness with the ease and class that they did. I mean, how far would you go to make someone feel loved?

I thought that the overall concept of the story was interesting. How ironic is it that he wanted a serious relationship with someone/something that represented such shallow sexual behaviors? The combination of the two social qualities was a complicated twist. It’s the meshing of opposites. Being shallow in an intelligent healthy relationship VS being sophisticated with a shallow one night stand. All Lars wants is a deep emotional relationship and he has it with a sex doll.

Ryan Gosling was so wonderful at portraying such an innocent and “pure of heart” character. He was awkward and the shy innocence that he lived in was a nice get away from the craziness of some of these other romantic comedies.

The other romantic character, Margo (played by Kelli garner), was one of the only things I didn’t like. Most of her dialogue is with Lars’ officemate, who is as immature as Margo. They are always fighting and stealing each other’s things. Lars and Margo bonded when the officemate stole her teddy bear and strangled it with a printer cable because she had hid one of his action figures. Why was she crying about a teddy bear? She was supposed to be in her twenties. What was the purpose of surrounding Lars with immaturity? I would think that if he was surrounded with more mature things, like his brother and sister-in-laws pregnancy, then it would make his character look more helpless and out of his element… But hey, I didn’t write it : )

This movie was sweet and simple. Definitely see it- if nothing other to see Ryan Gosling once again prove that he is a talented actor.