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Description: Sometimes you find love where you'd least expect it. Just ask Lars (Academy Award-Nominee* Ryan Gosling), a sweet but quirky guy who thinks he's found the girl of his dreams in a life-sized doll named Bianca. Lars is completely content with his artificial girlfriend, but when he develops feelings for Margo, an attractive co-worker, Lars finds himself lost in a hilariously unique love triangle, hoping to somehow discover the real meaning of true love. Offbeat and endearing, this romantic comedy takes a fresh look at dating and relationships and dares to ask the question: What's so wrong with being happy?Amazon.com: To some, Lars and the Real Girl will play as comedy; to others, tragedy. Though Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) allows Lars Lindstrom (a mustachioed Ryan Gosling, miles away from Half Nelson) a happy ending, the road is far from smooth. This rumpled Midwesterner couldn't be more miserable. His brother, Gus (Paul Schneider, All the Real Girls), and sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing), fall over themselves to cheer him up, but Lars cannot be moved; he’s been like that since childhood. Then a porn-addicted co-worker hips him to the lifelike Real Doll. The next thing everyone knows, Lars has a new girlfriend named Bianca. She's from Brazil, she's shy, and she uses a wheelchair. She's also made of silicon. (Because Lars is a devout Christian, hanky-panky is out of the question.) Since he's finally emerging from his shell, his doctor, Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), advises Gus and Karin to play along with the "delusion." Soon the whole town, including Margo (Kelli Garner), who harbors a not-so-secret crush on her officemate, gets in on the action, forcing Lars to rejoin the human race or crawl deeper into psychosis. Written by Six Feet Under's Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl is built around such a preposterous premise, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, the actors play it straight. Gosling does his best to make Lars sympathetic, but Schneider and Mortimer, fully convincing in their concern, are the true heart and soul of this odd little film. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Beyond Lars and the Real Girl 
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Stills from Lars and the Real Girl
Customer Reviews:
- Such a charm of a film: This movie was absolutely beautiful. No one else but Ryan Gosling could of brought such light and charm to this character Lars. It is a very unique and touching story. The script is beautifully written. Not once does it become kitchy or predictable. Now it seems hollywood makes the same film over and over, this film is truely unique. It is so much more than about a man who falls in love with a sex doll, but of a man joining life.
- Wow: Gosling is Great in this movie : There will be those that will not watch this movie based on the bizarre plot in which Lars (played to perfection by the ultr-talented Ryan Gosling) orders a life-size doll to serve as his companion. It will be their loss. This is a great movie that is worth the purchase. The acting in the film is top-notch and you can't help but care about the characters. Even, believe it or not, Lars's girlfriend Bianca. Note: Bianca is the doll. This is a dramedy with some poignant moments mixed in with some true belly laughs. A 5 star delight.
- I've never laughed so hard in a movie that also made me cry: I did not have high expectations for this film as I was dragged to it by my fiancee. It turned out to be one of my favorite all-time movies. If you like subtle humor and awkward silences the first half hour to forty five minutes of this flick will have you howling like a banshee. By the end you will be so immersed in the story that you won't realize that you're crying over the heartbreaking sentiments expressed in a relationship between a man and a sex doll. Incredibly touching and hilarious at the same time.
- It's Fiction and It's A Great Tale: Similar to the theme that runs through Pay It Forward, this film also has a morally upstanding message for those who help others and then receive something they never thought possible: internal healing.
Although very unrealistic in today's terms, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a great fictional take on what it would be like when an entire town gets behind one man's delusion and helps him (and themselves) get through past, present and future problems.
The man is Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson) whose isolationism has reached psychologically damaging proportions. Living in the garage while his brother and expectant sister-in-law occupy the cozy house, Lars' ruined psyche is at first a mystery to all. Karin (Emily Mortimer, Dear Frankie) is Lars' very pregnant sister-in-law who tries everything to get Lars to come over for dinner or interact in some way with the family and neighbors; she even goes so far as to tackle him in their driveway! Gus (Paul Schneider, The Family Stone) shoves Lars' problems under the family rug, saying "There's no problem with Lars." Lars' computer coworkers see him simply as an introvert, except for one cute new employee named Margo (Kelli Garner) who is attracted to him but can't seem to break through the walls he's built around him.
All of Lars' problems come to a head when Lars orders a silicon sex doll through the internet and introduces her to everyone as his new girlfriend. And it isn't a joke; it's a delusion that helps Lars build a surprising ladder to vault over the psychological walls he's built. The first to meet "Bianca" (the doll's given name by Lars) is Lars' brother Gus and sister-in-law Karin. Dumbfounded, they take Lars and Bianca to their local doctor Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson, Good Night, and Good Luck) who discovers Lars' delusion but is unsure of the cause.
The damage issued upon Lars slowly comes seeping out. Damaged by his now dead father. Abandonment/death of his mother. No help coming from any corner of his life or neighbors. It all took its toll on Lars and now it has manifested itself via a sex toy. But can the damage be reversed?
Watching this story one has to remember that it is fiction. Most mentally ill people are ostracized by their communities and getting the right help is often tough. But in Lars And The Real Girl, the entire township rallies around Lars to help him (and Bianca) become a part of the community again. The strange thing that happens is that in doing so, the townspeople heal whatever rifts exist within themselves, too.
Although funny at times, the story is more a poignant look at what could happen if people reached out and assisted those with psychological problems. The healing could be immense. And romance, a true romance, could blossom from the cure. - A Movie Lover's Movie: Every once and a while, you get to see a movie that helps you remember why you love movies. Not because it's flawless, unique, maudlin, funny, charming, or any number of other things. You love movies like these because they're life-affirming. Lars and the Real Girl is one of those.
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