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Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Patricia Clarkson, Kelli Garner ... see more see more... , Nancy Beatty , Karen Robinson , R.D. Reid , Doug Lennox , Joe Bostick , Liisa Repo-Martell , Nicky Guadagni , Joshua Peace , Boyd Banks , Sally Cahill , Angela Vint , Tannis Burnett , Arnold Pinnock , Tommy Chang , Lindsey Connell , Darren Hynes , Billy Parrott , Maxwell McCabe-Lokos

Lars (Ryan Gosling) and Gus (Paul Schneider) are the grown children of a father who died recently and a mother who died giving birth to Lars. But as brothers, they couldn't be more different. While Gu... read more read more...s lives in the family home and has a loving wife (Emily Mortimer) and a child on the way, Lars leads a more reclusive existence in the family's garage, hiding in plain sight of his small, wintry hometown. Painfully shy and eccentric, Lars fails to recognize that his co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner) has a major crush on him, and he picks up on a casual reference made by his cubicle mate, who mentions a website where you can order life-sized, anatomically correct sex dolls. But instead of seeing a sex object, Lars sees in this doll a potential life partner and the only kind of social "peer" he can relate to. So Lars orders a doll, whom he names Bianca, and begins treating her with utmost gentlemanly respect -- and as though she's his real-life, flesh-and-blood girlfriend. As he begins bringing Bianca with him everywhere he goes, the townspeople have to find just the right balance between supporting Lars' unusual romance and trying to introduce him to a more conventional partner. Lars and the Real Girl was written by Six Feet Under scribe Nancy Oliver and directed by Mr. Woodcock's Craig Gillespie. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

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134 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Release Date: October 12, 2007

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DVD Release Date: April 15, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (14,563)

  • yona71
    March 28, 2012
    yona71
    This is certainly a different film, but quite good in it's own right.
    Ryan Gosling portrays the affable introvert Lars Lindstrom who is in near solitude for years; only to have a "friend" he's met on the internet come and visit. He introduces Bianca to his brother and his wife w... read moreho are stunned at the fact that Bianca is in fact a life-size "love" doll that Lars is treating and representing as a human being.
    The family doctor explains after meeting Bianca in Lars's presence that this is a delusion he's created for reasons unknown, but believes that the best thing is for them to do is go along with it. The subsequent events show the emotional journey for Lars and the people around him, and how Bianca is more helpful than one may think for Lars.
    I know that sounds odd, but it's something you have to see to understand. The brilliant acting performance by Gosling really makes this film what it is. The vulnerability and delusional qualities Lars has are quite sad, but are also quite funny at times due to the context of the film, and the reactions of others to Bianca, the "Real Girl".
  • cosmo313
    March 19, 2012
    cosmo313
    This movie could have failed so easily. It could have easily descended into something gross, lurid, or stupid, but it doesn't. The whole situation is played straight, and the movie is all the better because of it.

    It's not really a comedy either. It might seem like some sort of... read more lighthearted comedic tale, and, while there are some funny moments, this is actually a really sweet and serious drama. Not once did I really think twice about whether or not to buy into the movie and take it seriously. You pretty much have to, otherwise it doesn't work.

    This is pretty easy to do, because it is just so well-written, directed, and acted. This is pretty much Ryan Gosling's show, but everyone does an excellent job here. The performances are just so sincere and genuine that you find yourself really caring about the people and what happens. I don't think I've seen a more genuine and honest love story like this in a long time.

    Here's how well the movie works: by the end of it, I was actually legitimately shedding tears. I really couldn't help it. The film is just so heartfelt, emotional, and moving that it's basically unavoidable unless you are dead inside. Okay, that's maybe a bit too strong, but the movie is extremely effective, and I feel like I really learned a good lesson about tolerance, grief, and the human condition for having watched it.
  • fb733768972
    March 1, 2012
    fb733768972
    "Lars and the Real Girl" has the type of story that can be an awful failure in the long run, but the emotions that lurk throughout this film are breathtakingly "real!" Ryan Gosling gives a powerhouse performance as Lars Lindstrom, a man who's mental illness is never quite clear, ... read morecreating fictional realities. He orders a doll from a sex website and ends up creating a relationship that let's him fall in love with a silicon figure. The idea may sound silly, but when you put yourself in the shoes of the other characters around him, you will find yourself crying as he makes real life decisions for his soon to be bride. I absolutely loved every second of this film. It is the type of film that will not appeal to everyone, but the ones that it does appeal to, will love it! In my eyes, this is pure storytelling at it's independent high!
  • paulkoh110
    February 24, 2012
    paulkoh110
    ITs great, quirky, and deep. Gosling gives a great performance and the ending is in some ways majestic.
  • MrMarakai
    January 24, 2012
    MrMarakai
    When you see the poster for this film, with a moustachioed Ryan Gosling sitting on his sofa, grinning from ear to ear and accompanied by a sex doll, you be forgiven for entering into this and expecting some form of farcical sex-comedy. The poster however, is somewhat misleading. ... read moreThis is more of a drama (with a hint of quirkiness) and it's a sensitive and heartfelt one at that.
    Pathologically shy guy Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) introduces his new 'girlfriend' Bianca, a lifelike plastic doll, to his sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) and brother Gus (Paul Schneider). Somewhat concerned, they decide to call in sympathetic psychologist Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) who advises that everyone play along with treating Bianca as a real person to try and get to the bottom of Lars' obvious mental condition.
    Lars is a tragic character that Gosling imbues with a real fragile innocence. It's another marvellous and enigmatic performance from him. He keeps the audience at just the right distance. Never letting you in, but still maintaining a likeability. Lars is a character that could so easily be laughed at and ridiculed but it's testament to writer Nancy Oliver, director Craig Gillespie, the supporting cast of Mortimer, Schnieder and Clarkson, and particularly Gosling's lead in bringing the character - and his social trauma - so vividly to life. Instead of being a farcical film of cheap jokes, it becomes a touching exploration of mental health that's quite unlike anything you'll have seen before.
    It's deliberately paced and some may even find it lethargic but I found it to be a highly original and deeply sensitive drama anchored by a marvellous central performance.
  • TomBowler
    November 22, 2011
    TomBowler
    Strange concept pulled off with some genuine emotion and a great central performance. Full review later.
  • ironclad1609
    October 24, 2011
    ironclad1609
    This is the story of Lars, a reclusive weirdo who has a hard time meeting or even talking to women. While our first impression of him may be odd, nothing prepares for the fact that he orders a real-looking sex doll and presents it as his girlfriend. That's a bit of a stretch of c... read moreourse and the community's reaction is even more unexpected: due to his doctor's advice, everyone plays along and treats "Bianca" like a real person. Once you get over the fact there is not one mean person in this town who would try to snap Lars out of it, this is a really sweet and heart warming film. Lars' and the community's treatment of Bianca is like therapy for him and his slow steps towards normality are well done, also thanks to Gosling's excellent acting performance. The fact that the film manages to make you weep for a sex-doll in the end speaks for itself.
  • groaningbitch
    October 23, 2011
    groaningbitch
    i noticed someone tried to make a comparison between "lars and the real girl" and "love object" which is a more obscure horror-movie made in 2003. what drives me into finally spending the time to see it after so many years is because of an odd incident happened in switzerland: a ... read more25-year-old guy got caught from having sex with his dog, and he was brought to the court wearing the collar of his dog, vowing his undying faithful love to the dog (which also happens to be a HE.) the guy insisted that he did nothing wrong, consensual affair since he did a series of courtships to it. still, he was sentenced to jail. my feeling was, the guy should be acquitted. ok, whether he should be sentenced is not an issue to discuss here, but my point is, you see nowadays lots of people treat their pets as if they were their own children meanwhile they're reluctant to produce any seed of their own. would you call them problematic? another question would be WHY! what is the emotional obstacle out there that drives people into bestowing their most precious affections to THINGS(anything non-human) instead of real human? is it safer to love an inanimate thing which cannot respond back so we could always live within an illusion of happiness without actually running the risk to have our hearts damaged?

    lars in this movie falls in love with a sex doll he orders from internet, and he treats this sex doll romantically while there's no sex involved in this "relationship." stricken by this sudden change, lars' family and friends all open their hearts to this inanimate doll as if she were real human. it turns out that the sex-doll has more active social life within the community than withdrawn lars. (honestly, that part is not very believable, but it's a movie which is based on a larger-than-life fictional idea). at last, lars lets the sex doll die as he gradually grows more and more fond of his female coleague.

    my first wonder would be, in childhood, lots of little girls have imaginary friends, quite often, the imaginary friends are their dolls purchased by the parents. we indulge little kids on behaving this way, patiently waiting for the kids to grow out of this oddity by participating as part of the child's act-play. particularly for young female kids. but for male kids, they're deprived of such luxury due to the fright of effemination. thus, when boys grow up, some of them tend to find some obedient girlfriend to compensate this lack of "dolly friend" in childhood. or if they're too socially inadequate, they would simply purchase a sex-doll online as some substitute girlfriend like lars. that is the gender issue here. also, you don't see stories about woman having a male-doll as boyfriend that often in cinematic pop culture, right? usually, just dysfunctional adult-woman has female-doll as imaginary friend, such as that 2005 horror-movie may.

    my second wonder would be, why we consider it abnormal (or delusional, according to the movie) when an adult does something guileless like that (dating the sex doll or falling in love with a dog)? the simple answer would be, because he's adult, he ain't supposed to do that! there's a basic psychological term called regression, a wish to retreat into childhood when a person cannot handle the stress in his present stage of life. in my opinion, in this decade, people all suffer from the want of regression, just take a look at the blurred demarcation between adult and child clothings, the popularity of adults having pets as child-substitutes...but we all seek harmless camouflage for ourselves to get away with what we do in life as long as it casts no harm to others before the issue of sex infiltrates into the picture and gives everything more irrevocable layers of complexity because fetishized sex invites the disturbing mental image of miscellaneous intercourse. the phobia of hybridity is still, in some way, deep rooted within people's mindset despite its ticklish sensations. without sex, it would be forgivable indulgement of regression; with sex, it would become a condemnable gesture of transgression!

    back to the comparison between "lars and the real girl" and "love object", the former is a childlike representation of infantile regression; the latter is a violatile simulcrum of malicious transgression (if you cannot have the woman you desire, order a doll which resembles her then tears her apart in pieces)...lars and the real girl is about an adult-boy's journey of ridding off his imaginary friend and fledging into a wholesome adulthood where he become tangible and capable of dealing with real intimacy.

    as for which one is more interesting? it depends on your mood. sometimes i crave for regression but there're also times when i seek surrogate transgression, intensified sexuality relished in extreme circumstances of life.
  • SirPant
    October 13, 2011
    SirPant
    Lars and the Real Girl really lived up to my expectations and then some. Ryan Gosling is definitely becoming the actor to look out for at the moment and his performance as Lars is a good example of why. The writing is brilliant and the actor's performances show understanding of t... read morehis, I have to say, it's a breath of fresh air to see such an intelligently thought out film become so successful and embraced. Other writers/directors/producers should take note - Lars and the Real Girl is like the Harvey for our generation, it's that good.
  • shawnewing92
    September 4, 2011
    shawnewing92
    This slightly odd film could have been disastrous with it's unusual plot and story. It was the great quality of acting from lead Ryan Gosling and the rest of the cast that really made this film feel sincere and rich with substance. I'm sure it was also the more serious approach t... read moreo Lar's condition and not just laughs that made this film so successful. A great quality film that comes off more sweet than depressing.

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Critic Reviews

Joe Baltake
December 1, 2007
Joe Baltake, Passionate Moviegoer

Craig Gillespie's 'Lars and the Real Girl' Is an Off-Beat, '70s-Like Charmer that Could Have Been the Third Side of a Bud Cort Trilogy Full Review

Andrew Sarris
November 15, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Under Mr. Gillespie's admirably directed seriousness of tone, the performers, particularly Mr. Gosling, Ms. Mortimer, Mr. Schneider, Ms. Clarkson, Ms. Gardner and Mr. Reid, never miss a beat. Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards
November 3, 2007
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

...we're surprised to find that it's possible to feel a real emotional attachment to an anatomically correct girl made of quality plastic. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
November 2, 2007
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Lars and the Real Girl remains suspended somewhere between perversity and pap, with only Gosling hinting at the mingling that might have been. Full Review

Rick Groen
November 2, 2007
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

A sweet little fable about how a delusional man-child is helped by the loving ministrations of his family and community, the kind of throwback flick where human nature is seen as inherently good -- a ... Full Review

Tom Long
October 26, 2007
Tom Long, Detroit News

It's the script by Nancy Oliver, the very idea of the thing, that steals your heart. Kink has never felt so sweet and decent. Full Review

John Monaghan
October 26, 2007
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

The most poignant, well-acted and weirdly funny movie you'll see this year. Full Review

J. R. Jones
October 26, 2007
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Both hilarious and poignant, with a Capraesque humanity that caught me completely off guard. Full Review

Colin Covert
October 25, 2007
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Every scene that could be played for pathos uncorks great laughs, while those that could turn crass or silly are compassionate. On every level, this is a labor of love. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
October 25, 2007
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

Sweet, moving and heartfelt aren't necessarily the first words that come to mind when describing the tender tale of a young man and his sex doll, yet all three apply to Lars and the Real Girl. Full Review

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    • Lars: [after giving some flowers to Bianca] See they're even fake so they'll never die.
    • Gus: A delusion? What the hell is he doing with the delusion for christ sake?
    • Lars: I was talking to Bianca, and she was saying that in her culture they have these rites of passages and rituals and cermonies, and, just all kinds of things that, when you do them, go through them, let you know that you're an adult? Doesn't that sound great?
    • Karin: They never fight
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Lars and the Real Girl Trivia

  • Name the movie that did not starred Ryan Reynolds.  Answer »
  • In the 2007 comedy 'Lars And The Real Girl' what is the name of the "real girl?"  Answer »
  • Which pair was in both "All the Real Girls" and "Lars and the Real Girl?"  Answer »
  • The lifelike doll who is a central character in "Lars and the Real Girl" is named:  Answer »
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