Popcorn, Soda, and Goobers - Movie and DVD Reviews and Film Commentary

Lars and the Real Girl (imdb | get the dvd)

As promised in this week’s DVD Spree (our weekly post on interesting DVD releases), here’s a quick review of Lars and the Real Girl which came out on DVD today.

For those of you who haven’t heard, and it’s understandable if you haven’t, Lars and the Real Girl is the story of a terribly shy young man who spends his time avoiding contact at work and living a reclusive life in the garage of his brother and sister-in-law’s house. One day, he decides to purchase a super-realistic sex doll online and comes out of his shell, introducing the doll as his new girlfriend to friends and family alike. Despite the concerns of his family, a local doctor finds Lars to be highly functioning and that his delusion is just a way for him to work through his own internal struggles. She tells the family to just play along while he goes through this phase and we eventually find that the entire town rallies around Lars and his doll. The movie had a limited theatrical release in October, but that was enough to garner it a nomination for a Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Ryan Gosling is terrific as Lars and Emily Mortimer also submits a strong performance alongside him as Katie Lindstrom, Lars’ caring and nurturing sister-in-law. The movie moves a little slowly, but the dialogue and the characters are all truly believable. It’s as if you really were watching a slice of someone’s life (sorry to steal a horrible cliche). Most of the time is likely to be spent marveling at how well Ryan Gosling plays yet another deep and moving character even though, aside from being psychologically troubled, Lars just might be the polar opposite of Dan Dunne, Gosling’s cocaine addled character in Half Nelson (another highly recommended title).

The plot sounds humorous and the trailers were deceivingly light. This movie, however, is really much more a drama than a comedy. The humor is portrayed through classically “indie” quirkiness and moments of awkward silence. You might crack a smile, but you won’t be hooting and hollering. Ultimately, the movie experience is much more about connecting with the characters and watching their growth and transformation on screen than about sitting down to a laugh riot. But, that’s okay. Instead, this movie is much more than just a cheap comedy about a man and his sex doll. Instead, it’s a charming tale about the power of love, kindness, and community that begs the question, “What if we embraced the oddities that are within each of us?”

3.5-4 anatomically correct dolls out of 5