Review of Lars and the Real Girl (2007) by Panta O — 18 Mar 2014

I simply enjoyed every minute of this American-Canadian comedy-drama written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie. It was fresh, unusual, deep and very emotional... somehow perfect ground for the thriving stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner and Patricia Clarkson.

The story follows Lars (Gosling), a sweet yet quirky, socially inept young man, who develops an unusual romantic relationship with an anatomically correct sex doll, a "RealDoll" named Bianca. He lives with his older brother (Schneider) and his brother's wife (Mortimer) in his father's house, but he decides to have his room in the garage! The story is taking us slowly and building up with lots of love to show us how the rest of the small town grows to accept and welcome Bianca into the community for Lars' sake, not realizing that she would touch all of their lives in a profound way.

I loved the screenplay which was recognized through the Academy Award nomination for "Best Writing (Original Screenplay)", while Gosling received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy" and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role".

Interested in sweet, innocent, grounded in reality, exceptional emotionally movie? Grab this one!