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Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

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Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 134
Fresh: 109 | Rotten: 25

Lars and the Real Girl could've so easily been a one-joke movie. But the talented cast, a great script, and direction never condescends to its character or the audience.

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 36
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 7

Lars and the Real Girl could've so easily been a one-joke movie. But the talented cast, a great script, and direction never condescends to its character or the audience.

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Movie Info

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 Gus 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)

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Comedy

Directed By: Craig Gillespie

Written By: Nancy Oliver

In Theaters: Oct 12, 2007 Wide

On DVD: Apr 15, 2008

Box Office:$5.8M

MGM/Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

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

December 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Passionate Moviegoer

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Passionate Moviegoer

Top Critic

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.

November 15, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Observer

| Comment

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

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

November 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Film.com

| Comment

Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

Top Critic

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

November 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment (1)

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

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 notion so quaint that it feels damn near buoyant.

November 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comment

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

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.

October 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

Sweet, sad and funny...an entertaining fable about the phenomenon of socially crippled singles. [Blu-ray]

May 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews

| Comment

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews Source: Groucho Reviews

Nancy Oliver's sincere, graceful script about working through grief with the help of tolerance and patience deftly avoids introducing artificial drama. And, as Lars, the reliably terrific Ryan Gosling gives a warm, earnest performance.

September 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com

| Comment

Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

A delusional but sweet psychological drama about a young man treated for a bizarre delusional disorder with unconditional love.

August 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment (1)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Overall, an imperfect gem. In its successful attempt to go for the heart, "Lars and the Real Girl" stumbles a bit. I would have cast Michael Cera in the lead role.

August 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card

| Comments (7)

Ross Anthony

Hollywood Report Card

No es una gran pel�cula, pero s� una historia original que logra llegar a buen puerto y hasta conmovernos. Estupenda labor de Ryan Gosling.

November 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total

| Comment

Enrique Buchichio

Uruguay Total

It's certainly not a bad movie, but not everything it could've been.

August 31, 2008 Full Review Source: ABC News (Australia)

| Comment

Marc Fennell

ABC News (Australia)

This script by Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under) is a delicate, bittersweet, and often sad story of a lost, fragile man and the people who love him.

August 25, 2008 Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com

| Comment

Heather Huntington

ReelzChannel.com Source: ReelzChannel.com

Sex doll takes center stage in quirky comedy.

July 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment (1)

Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

A plea for compassion and understanding; its lack of the negative side of human nature almost makes it seem desperate in that regard, but overall it's deft at achieving its goal.

June 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies

| Comment (1)

Jeffrey Chen

Window to the Movies

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Lars and the Real Girl

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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 who are stunned at the fact that Bianca is

August 22, 2009

Eric S

Super Reviewer

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 lighthearted comedic tale, and, while

April 21, 2008

Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

Lars and the Real Girl Quotes

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1. Lars: [after giving some flowers to Bianca] See they're even fake so they'll never die.
– Submitted by Kenny C (8 months ago)
1. Gus: A delusion? What the hell is he doing with the delusion for christ sake?
– Submitted by Aneth F (9 months ago)
1. 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?
– Submitted by Chris P (12 months ago)
1. Karin: They never fight
– Submitted by Elisa C (13 months ago)

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