Lars and the Real Girl (Dvd) - Jennie

This quaint romantic comedy is propelled by a role that Ryan Gosling disappears in and some very dark comedy. It revolves around a small town’s acceptance of Lars’ new girlfriend who just happens to be a life-sized sex doll.

Gosling plays Lars as a joyful yet reserved hermit who has lost the ability to be comforted by touch. After a coworker introduces him to Real Dolls, which is a company that creates plastic ultra realistic sex toys, Lars orders one and begins a delusion that she is real and has come from a foreign local to be his girlfriend. His sister-in-law in a desperate attempt to connect with the emotionally and physically distant Lars accepts this delusion and forces Lars brother, her husband, to go along with the ruse. Gosling’s Lars seems genuinely delusional and as the brother accepts that he will have to live with Lars’ mental issue he begins to ask the town to play along as well. This acts as the meat of the plot and it plays like an episode of the Gilmore Girls.

The small town seems to love the crazy Lars and go so far as to give his fake significant other a job, cut her hair, and party with her. In one particularly foolish scene the man-made female sits in front of a gaggle of children with a tape player on her lap as she “reads” them a story. An on looking adult smiles pleasantly as the children stare at the expressionless sex toy. I say this plays like an episode of the Gilmore Girls because the whole town seems in on it without any animosity. They joyfully dance with her at a birthday party, they keep a schedule of her activities, and the doctor treats her ailments. The deceptively cute Kelli Garner eventually pulls Lars back into the real world and provokes the climax in which the town throws a mock funeral for Lars’ now deceased toy.

I was pleasantly surprised that Nancy Oliver, the writer, didn’t fall for the usual trappings that accompany plots like this. There was never any ill will towards Lars by some angry-for-no-reason punk kid. The brother, despite not liking the game, plays along the whole time and never forces Lars to quit. I feel these things were obvious roads to travel down, but she didn’t take them. It did take away from the realism, but that is a casualty I was willing to suffer. I also have to add that Paul Schneider, who played the brother, did a fantastic job and should be called on more often then I am aware of.

6 out of 10 – a relatively harmless romantic comedy that timidly breaks the mold.