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Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Director: Craig Gillespie

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Movie review

From Time Out New York

It’s hard to imagine what, exactly, Ryan Gosling saw in Nancy Oliver’s painfully twee script about a basket case named Lars who, much to the relief of his long-suffering sister-in-law (Mortimer) and brother (Schneider), suddenly announces that his “girlfriend” has come to stay. One slight problem: She’s a sex doll. Since he’s really a sweetheart in addition to being a sociopath, everybody else in town decides to play along. As the kindly psychiatrist (Clarkson) keeps telling his neighbors—and us dim audience members—this is the only way Lars can heal his psychic wounds.

Using a boink toy as training wheels for emotional maturity is an intriguing concept, even without the promise (thankfully unfulfilled) of hot man-on-polyurethane action. But heaven forbid you expect anything from Craig Gillespie’s self-conscious take on mental illness, other than grating indie-flick quirk. Gosling, a talented actor who’s done wonders with potentially stock characters before (see Half Nelson), here demonstrates nothing but a facility for chronic blinking and stooped shoulders. Even he can’t guide us to the pulse within this pat material, and you have to keep reminding yourself which of the title characters is the plastic one.

Author: David Fear 2007-10-09 22:39:05

Time Out New York Issue 628: October 11–17, 2007

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User reviews of this film

  • andy said...
    Posted on Nov 11 2009 14:43 the doll is a plot device to put a fine point on mental illness. there's nothing sexual about it. the townspeople were of course exaggerated to symbolize the kind of caring and support that is possible. movies are the realm of ideas, concepts, and possibilities. if they were a mirror image of real life, who would watch? this one avoided cliches and neat tidy resolutions. you know the main character will always be bizarre, but a few people will try to accomodate this out of love. you really missed the boat on this one.
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  • Harold said...
    Posted on May 22 2008 05:43 Ryan Gosling is a talented actor but this may be one of the most pretentious and boring movies I have ever seen. I can't begin to understand the generally good reviews it received. One must suspend belief to really get involved in a movie but this premise was so ridiculous and the characters so unbelievable that was impossible.
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  • Curt said...
    Posted on Dec 29 2007 16:20 Don’t let the fact that this is a movie involving a sex doll scare you away. Crude humor, mean-spirited insults, cheap double-entendres or otherwise ugly human behavior--such as may be found from reviewers of this film--is nowhere to be found in this thoughtful gem of a movie. Ryan Gosling stars and it’s not anything like one might expect, despite the doll prop. It’s a decent, sweet, kind-hearted movie with a lot to say. If you aren’t the cynical type or you are willing to put your cynicism on hold for a couple of hours, I highly recommend it. I’m shocked that those involved pulled this difficult concept off with such style and grace.
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  • Tim said...
    Posted on Dec 09 2007 20:29 Wow - I am blown away by these so-negative reactions. I found this film strange, yes, but VERY funny, VERY sweet, VERY touching and, best of all, VERY human. It presents an outrageous situation, to which everyone reacts in the most human, caring and - and this is the film's greatest success - believable way possible. I loved it.
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  • Trace Oakley said...
    Posted on Nov 24 2007 02:39 Finally, someone gets it right. The film is terrible in practically every respect, but its most fatal flaw is that Gosling seems in on the joke. Not one character rang true, and the cheap gags mixed with maudlin sentimentality left me nauseated. The worst episode of MONK deals with mental illness more effectively, and humorously than this clunker. While Lars' relationship with a fake girlfriend opened him up to the wonders of the real thing, the 95 minutes I pissed away watching this made me long for a real movie.
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  • anus said...
    Posted on Nov 05 2007 19:32 u know what i think, i think that David Fear is gay and would rather have a male sex doll then a girl one
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Lars and the Real Girl

Cast & crew

Director: Craig Gillespie

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner full cast

Rated: PG-13

Duration: 106 mins


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