‘Lars’ a story about a guy and his doll
“Lars and the Real Girl” is a tale about a guy and his inflatable girlfriend he got off the Internet.
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But if you are looking for a gross-out, adolescent-style sex comedy, this isn't it. In fact, the film is rated PG-13.
Ryan Gosling is the shy, baby brother. He is scared of women. He is scared of much interaction with anyone.
His parents are dead and his older brother and sister-in-law (Paul Schneider and Emily Mortime) occupy the old homestead. Gosling's character, Lars Lindstrom, lives in the converted garage.
The sister-in-law is the sensitive sort, maybe because she is pregnant. She wants Lars to meet a girl, begin a normal relationship. Heck, she even wants him to out of the garage and into the house. But she can't even get him to accept a dinner invitation, until…..
OK, let's digress. Lars works in an office. A fellow employee spends his time scanning the Internet for porn. He comes across a Web site that offers anatomically correct blowup dolls. You create the doll you want, with the look you desire.
Lars orders one who looks a bit like Angelina Jolie. But shy Lars isn't looking for the doll for a sexual relationship. He's actually looking for a more life-fulfilling relationship.
Thanks to family and friends. He gets it.
Lars actually accepts a dinner invitation from sis-in-law and asks to bring his new girlfriend. Sis-in-law Mortime is thrilled, until he meets her.
The look on Schneider and Mortime's faces is priceless when they discover the doll. The Mortime character tries to salvage the evening by going along with her demented brother-in-law. Her husband just thinks baby bro has fallen off the deep end.
Soon the townspeople, who all know each other, take the doll, named Bianca, under their wing, treating it like a human being.
Lars says she is a paraplegic who was a missionary in Brazil.
Bianca is soon getting a makeover. Joining the girls for events. There is actually a struggle. Lars wants her to stay home and play cards with him. Others want her to go out with them. For an inanimate, albeit anatomically correct thing, Bianca is quite the socialite. We even learn she was elected to the school board!
When Lars decides one morning Bianca can't be awoken, an ambulance is called. The doctors, the staff, all go along and treat Bianca like a real person. As Lars' therapist, Patricia Clarkson, says it is up to him to decide Bianca's fate.
The movie is rather sweet, filled with thoughtful, engaging people. But the joke about Bianca not being real does get old after awhile.
Parts of it might remind you of "Weekend at Bernie's," while others Jimmy Stewart's "Harvey." It has an old-fashion feel about. And indeed Lars makes the final determination about his Bianca and you might get a lump in your throat watching.
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