Lars and the Real Girl

Name: Lars and the Real Girl
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: October 12, 2007
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 70
Cast: Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Ryan Gosling

2007

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 261 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	Your Score
7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 261 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: October 12, 2007 | PG-13

Starring: Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Ryan Gosling

Summary: Lars and the Real Girl is the touching, amusing, and humorous story about a man whose emotional baggage has kept him from fully embracing life. After years of what is almost solitude, Lars invites Bianca, a friend he met on the Internet, to visit him. He introduces Bianca to his brother Gus and his wife Karen and they are stunned. TheyLars and the Real Girl is the touching, amusing, and humorous story about a man whose emotional baggage has kept him from fully embracing life. After years of what is almost solitude, Lars invites Bianca, a friend he met on the Internet, to visit him. He introduces Bianca to his brother Gus and his wife Karen and they are stunned. They don't know what to say to Lars or Bianca--because she is a life-size doll, not a real person, and he is treating her as if she is alive. They consult the family doctor, who explains that this is a delusion he's created--for what reason, she doesn't yet know, but they should all go along with it. What follows is an emotional journey for Lars and the people around him. [Kimmel International]… Expand

Director: Craig Gillespie

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 106 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Joe Morgenstern

It's nothing less than a miracle that the director, Craig Gillespie, and the writer, Nancy Oliver, have been able to make such an endearing, intelligent and tender comedy from a premise that, in other hands, might sustain a five-minute sketch on TV. Read full review

Wesley Morris

When a movie about a guy who orders a sex doll off the Internet can turn vice into virtue, something miraculous has occurred. Lars and the Real Girl achieves that kind of miracle. Read full review

Empire Helen O'Hara

A strangely affecting romance with real heart -- and another sign that Gosling is one of the best young actors around. Read full review

James Berardinelli

While "quirky" is a good descriptor for the production, Lars and the Real Girl isn't so bizarre that mainstream movie goers will reject it. This is an offbeat independent production that could become one of those big little fall surprises. Read full review

Alissa Simon

Helmer Craig Gillespie's sweetly off-kilter film plays like a Coen brothers riff on Garrison Keillor's "Lake Woebegone" tales, defying its lurid premise with a gentle comic drama grounded in reality. Read full review

Lawrence Toppman

You can approach it as a surreal story -- you'd have to, to find value in it -- but happy chuckles are miles away from the point. Read full review

Ella Taylor

Lars and the Real Girl wobbles in a slow, toneless no-man's-land between mawkish and schmaltzy while trafficking shamelessly in heartland stereotypy. Read full review

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User Reviews

waynh.

Oct 28, 2007

Warms my heart.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MarianneB.

Oct 15, 2007

Lovely movie. Laughed. Cried. Satisfied. Ryan Gosling was spectacular.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

CarolG

Dec 30, 2008

I absolutely loved this heartwarming tale about a community coming to support one of its own. I recommended this film to all of my friends and they loved it too. I thought it should have gotten best picture in 2007.

3 of 3 users found this helpful

CraigA.

Aug 10, 2008

Just incredible. I am in awe of Ryan Gosling's acting abilities.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

amheretojudge

Jun 14, 2018

an authentic and heartbreaking relationship..

Lars And The Real Girl There have been quite a few features like such, that pitched similar concept to it and has touched viewer's heart through their non-human but equally up beating characters and this is one of them. The writing is grippingan authentic and heartbreaking relationship..

Lars And The Real Girl

There have been quite a few features like such, that pitched similar concept to it and has touched viewer's heart through their non-human but equally up beating characters and this is one of them. The writing is gripping if not smart, keeping the audience engaged through its pragmatic characters that is fueled by the emotions running among them on screen and the makers being aware of it pampers the audience throughout the course of it. It is short on technical terms like sound department but is immensely pleasing on the way it is shot; the camera work is stunning, and so is costume design. Nancy Oliver's emotionally driven script is not only supported but celebrated by Craig Gillespie; the director, whose brilliant execution skills up the ante of the game. Ryan Gosling is the real game changer of the feature as it pulsates his skills on a much larger scale and flaunts it shamelessly and sweeps away most of the charm where he is supported decently by a hungry cast (Emily Mortimer and Paul Schneider) whose work is appreciative in here. Lars And The Real Girl is an authentic and heartbreaking relationship of humans surviving in a society where the softer and sweeter aspects of it is explored and encouraged in here.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DawdlingPoet

Nov 24, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a fairly quirky movie, which I quite enjoyed. I thought that it was quite touching at points and I was quite intrigued to see how the movie would play out. You would be mistaken for thinking that its perhaps a bit of an obvious movie, that its a tale of a shy man who keeps to himself and whos relatives come to save the day and 'thats that' sort of thing but it isn't really like that. I thought that it was quite sweet to watch how the 'townsfolk' reacted to the new 'citizen' Bianca, how the doctor dealt with Lars and his delusions, seemingly 'treating' Bianca while really trying to evaluate Lars. Lars himself is quite a curious character and I did feel quite sorry for him, I have to say I have a good bit of experience when it comes to being someone who prefers to keep to themselves, im not one for going to big parties or being out with other people other than my family, very much at all and its sad to see how people judge him, although of course it is true to say that its not particularly healthy to be that way and when Bianca comes along, yes, if I were his sister I'd be alarmed too!
There are some fairly surreal scenes, which again should be expected given the story, where 'Bianca' is shown in the neighbourhood, accompanying Lars to certain places and events, such as attending a church service with him and even getting 'her' blood pressure taken. The way the story goes with Lars at first being blissfully in love and then slowly things going downhill for poor Bianca, I almost did start to feel sorry for her, even if she is just an inanimate blow up doll! but really for me it was the reaction of the community to this doll, how they acted around Lars and Bianca that I particularly liked and found quite fascinating. I can't imagine the same being the case around here and again it added a fair degree of surrealism to the movie but I feel that there is, somehow, a positive message in there somehow, that ok here you have who must be quite a disillusioned man who chooses to let his imagination, I suppose, run a bit and has built up these delusions as the doctor calls it but as it is, it doesn't hurt anyone and in having 'Bianca' it makes him that bit more confident to attend things that he wouldn't have had he really believed he was on his own, such as attending a local party. In the movie you also have two opposing views, the general acceptance of Bianca by the local community against Lars' brother Gus, who clearly doesn't accept 'her' and to start with even suggests sectioning poor Lars. However, as hesitant and disapproving as he is at the start, I feel that towards the end things change a bit and I also thought it was quite nice to see how Gus' wife Karin reacted too, her being the one that tried to get Lars to come over and see them more.

I feel that this is in one way quite a sad and touching movie but its also somewhat uplifting and I suppose it does have somethng of a positive message, its certainly something different anyway, I thought that it was quite well thought out as far as the story goes, what happens as Lars 'relationship' with Bianca continues and what the outcome eventually is, it was quite fascinating and I thought that Ryan Gosling gave a good performance portraying this disillusioned man who seems to really see somebody in this doll.
Of course this isn't a movie for everyone but I thought that the story was interesting enough, it didn't drone on forever and the performances were again quite solid, the interaction between Lars and his brother Gus and his sister in law Karin and the community in general being quite interesting, so it kept me watching until the end and I also liked how the movie ended, I thought it was quite fitting, thats all I'll say there for fear of giving too much away.

I do think some people may find it bland, if your very outgoing then you may well not relate to Lars and so find it just a bit too weird and a bit too slow, pace-wise, also it isn't exactly laugh out loud funny, its more subtle and more of a quirky, touching movie than a comedy movie as such but it is the sort of movie that I quite enjoy from time to time, so it suited me well, for me it'd be more of a 5 star movie but I think there are people who won't really 'get it' or enjoy it that much, so I decided to go with a 4 star rating, also im not sure if it is a movie that I would watch more than once, im not sure.

Yes I would. Like I say, its not a movie everyone will enjoy, its not laugh out loud hilarious, its not full of action, its not really sexual or anything like that but its an intriguing 'human' story, if you know what I mean, that I found quite touching and fascinating too in a sense. I found the story interesting and the performances are fine too, so I would recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MeeC.

Mar 22, 2008

Worst movie I've ever seen! I'm quite disgusted by Ryan Gosling whom I thought was a pretty promising young actor.

0 of 3 users found this helpful

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61	#61 Most Discussed Movie of 2007
84	#84 Most Shared Movie of 2007