Lars and the Real Girl - REVIEW

Sometimes, getting the wrong "message" from a film's trailer can have disastrous results and even ruin the film for the particular viewer. Lars and the Real girl manages to avoid this tragedy. After seeing the trailer multiple times (and laughing a LOT along with the rest of the audience), I was expecting a quirky and very funny Little Miss Sunshine-esque comedy. Not the case. Though the film has its moments of hilarity, its much more sweet (though not sappy *whew*) and touching.


Even though you can probably guess who will end up with who at the end of the movie, the movie succeeds in filling in the blanks and connecting the dots. The story follows Lars (a wonderfully down to earth Ryan Gosling), a very shy man who lives, by his choice, in the garage apartment while his brother (Paul Schneider) and wife (Emily Mortimer) live in the main house. One day, a life size doll shows up at Lars' home, and he falls head over plastic heels, naming the doll Biana, and treating her as a real person. Though confused, his brother and sister-in-law, on the advice of the local psychologist (Patricia Clarkson), go along with it, and eventually the whole town joins in. Though it starts off as a bit of a stretch, the whole ordeal works, specifically because the script is more of a character study of troubled Lars, than a slapstick comedy. Also, the quirky little score is my favorite from any "indie" I've seen this year. The performances are all good, but its Gosling's movie and by the time the film is over, he's the only one giving an award worthy performance (not to put down the rest of the wonderful cast). Several months ago I rented "Fracture" and found Gosling to be incredibly annoying. Now my opinion has completely changed. Maybe he's just that good of an actor...


Too tired to do the whole "breakdown" deal....*yawn*


Grade: A-
Current Nominations: Best Actor - Ryan Gosling (#2), Best Original Screenplay (#3), Best Original Score (#2)