Movie reviews, production notes, and more! - "Lars and the Real Girl"

Movie Review: Lars and the Real Girl

Film Review By Michael Phillips, Tribune movie critic "Lars and the Real Girl" peddles a brand of whimsy - kinky on the surface, enough to make Frank Capra gag underneath - that a lot of people enjoyed this year on the film festival circuit. I know people who cried, and who find it quirky and charming and a real treasure. And I am happy for these people, though I am not with them, because I find "Lars and the Real Girl" adorable in the worst way, bailed out only by most every member of its excellent cast. Note that "most." I don't believe a single thing Ryan Gosling's doing in the leading role, which is borderline unplayable to begin with. He plays Lars, a sweet, pathologically shy man who lives in the converted garage behind the small-town family home. (The setting is somewhere in the Midwest, possibly Minnesota, given all the Lindstroms and Dagmars.) His brother Gus (Paul Scheider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) look after him. He is a holy fool who never recovered from his mother's death in childbirth. The young man orders a sex doll in the mail, not for sex, but for simple companionship. At the ... read more Back to main movie page Showing Today at: Click here for other showings