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Despite having a sex doll at the center of its story, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a charming tale about a young man who submerges himself in a fantasy world to escape from reality. Lars Lindstrom buys a sex doll and tells everyone that it is his new girlfriend Bianca from Brazil. Nancy Oliver’s Oscar-nominated screenplay handles this premise with a great deal of tact. This isn’t AMERICAN PIE, folks; it’s more like apple pie and church and milk and cookies. And if you found some way to make any of that sexual than you’re not Lars.

Lars (Ryan Gosling, THE NOTEBOOK) has become more and more reclusive, moving into the garage of the family home. His brother Gus (Paul Schneider, ALL THE REAL GIRLS), and especially his sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer, LOVELY & AMAZING) worry about him. Then one night, he introduces them to Bianca like he’d introduce any Brazilian missionary he met on the Internet to them. The next day they take Lars and Bianca to see Dr. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson, THE STATION AGENT), who tells them that Lars is having delusions and that if they want to keep him they will have to play along with the fantasy. Under the guise of treating Bianca’s low blood pressure, Dr. Dagmar sets a weekly appointment to meet with Lars and his quiet girlfriend. Gus and Karin struggle with accepting Lars’ condition, while trying to explain it to the community at large. With Bianca around, Lars is able to easily avoid his sweet co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner, BULLY).

For many critics, this film fell into the love it or hate it category. Oliver’s Oscar nomination shows her support for handling the tricky material as well as she did. However, the story gets too cute for its own good sometimes, stretching credibility so far that we start to see the cracks. It’s hard to say whether it was Oliver’s script or the way director Craig Gillespie handled the material. Some of the film’s detractors dislike the supportive neighborhood as too Andy Griffith to be believed. While I will admit, the town is quite supportive it’s handled in a well-observed way. Lars is a sweet innocent who everyone in town knows as the good boy who goes to church every week. He’s got problems and they want to help. I believed in this supportive environment partly because of the nice way the actors approached the material. From the fine performances of Mortimer and Schneider to the casual observer, they approach Lars and Bianca at first with nervousness and over time their awkward feelings melt away into acceptance. This is all done because they care about Lars.

Now, while I buy the overall premise, there are moments that push this support too far. And these are the moments that will be crucial to your appreciation of the story. During the course of the film, friends of Lars take Bianca on their own, not allowing Lars to isolate himself with his “perfect” mate. While I buy that people might do that I don’t buy that they’d actually go through with what they say they are doing. So when Bianca volunteers at the hospital, she wouldn’t be propped up to read to children if Lars was not around, but probably stuck in a broom closet. There is a line when the townsfolk seem to be accepting the delusion and then they cross the line into sharing the delusion as well. I was also waiting for the jerk to show up. The jerk that doesn’t play along and ridicules Lars, but apparently this town doesn’t have them. While this could come off clichéd, I feel the film lacked something by not showing Lars dealing with someone hostilely rejecting his delusion.

While these problems never broke the film for me, they are there chipping away at the overall effectiveness. For me the saving graces are the many, many moments that the film gets right. Even the supportive people know just how crazy this situation is. I loved the moment when Karin curiously checks out just how anatomically accurate Bianca really is. I liked how Gus’ co-workers kid him about Bianca. Their understanding of the broader implications just underline how innocent and separated from reality Lars has become. I was captivated with Lars’ reasons for creating Bianca. While some found Gosling’s performance too mannered, I found it just mannered enough. He’s the kind of innocent who fills in naughtiness with quirkiness. This too can be said of Margo, who we see as a perfect alternative to Bianca, but Lars has other issues outside of simple shyness that he has to deal with first.

For the most part, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL takes a fantastic premise and makes it real. Ultimately, I believed in all the characters even if from time to time they did things I didn’t believe would happen. There’s also a good deal of hope in wanting to believe in this supportive community. They see Lars’ motivations as innocent so they go along with it to help. He doesn’t see Bianca as a sex doll so they begin to see her in a more innocent way. Who Lars is before Bianca makes the whole premise work. As Karin passionately tells Lars at one point, the whole town is doing this because they love him. That love is what the film gets totally right, which makes the film an overall delightful experience.

Buy It Now!

Buy Lars and the Real Girl Now!