Lars and the Real Girl
Directed by Craig Gillespie
I didn’t realize Ryan Gosling had become such a glamorous chick magnet until I witnessed dozens of ecstatic girls howling his name. He was striding down the red carpet premiere for his latest movie vehicle, Lars and the Real Girl, and the screams were incessant. Everyone reacted to my ignorance with disgust: “What? You didn’t know he was a star? Everybody loves that guy!”
Really? Let’s look at the facts: Gosling, a dapper 26-year-old whose main physical attractions are a trim physique and an everyman grin, has very few substantial movie credits that would’ve enhanced his celebrity stature. It wasn’t until 2006, with his impressive performance in the runaway indie hit Half Nelson, that Gosling garnered widespread accolades. He deserved them all—even more so than the movie—as he did the subsequent Academy Award nomination. But Gosling remained fairly press-shy during that time, particularly when he neglected to take an active role in the blitzkrieg Oscar campaigning.
For a guy who keeps a pretty low profile, Gosling certainly draws a lot of attention to himself. It’s hard to imagine that this comes solely from his talent as a performer—his recent fling with Rachel McAdams probably helps—although it’s an alluring idea. Gosling has other great credits to his name, like the vicious Nazi punk in 2001’s The Believer, but these aren’t the sort of performances that girls drooling over Us Weekly photos usually seek out. Nevertheless, if flocks of Gosling fans have absorbed his increasingly impressive filmography simply to witness his handsome mug, more to power to ‘em.
Judging from the specificity of his roles, Gosling has got to be one of the most unconventional movie stars in years. Should his glitzy stature convince fans to check out the wonderfully bizarre humor of Lars and the Real Girl, then maybe there’s a virtuous point to this luminary business after all.
Gosling made a bold choice for this project: The movie is directed by Craig Gillespie, whose sole feature film credit prior to Lars was the long-delayed comedy Mr. Woodcock, a movie that finally popped into theaters a few weeks ago. But Gillespie’s sophomore outing seems destined to be perceived as his true emergence as an artist. On one level, it’s a tragic psychological drama focused on the hopelessly depressed Lars (Gosling), a confused bachelor living out his days in the garage adjacent to the home of his brother (Paul Schneider) and his earnestly concerned wife (Emily Mortimer). The couple worries about Lars’ social alienation, but it isn’t until he orders a life-size sex doll over the Internet and sincerely believes that he’s acquired a living, breathing girlfriend that they decide to seek psychological help. The brilliant doctor (Patricia Clarkson) concocts a cure as unconventional as the rest of the plot, convincing Lars’ family—in addition to the whole damn community—to pretend his object of desire is a real woman. By sustaining the illusion, the shrink discovers the truth behind Lars’ disorder, which I dare not reveal.
It’s a trick of subtle maneuvering that enables Lars and the Real Girl to be so earnestly funny. One can imagine the kind of grotesque mindlessness the Farrelly Brothers would’ve brought to this material (Does Lars have sex with his doll? How would that work? Who cares?) without bothering to contemplate its realistic implications. We never doubt that Lars’ delusion stems from a serious mental health issue, and Gillespie gives the situation an appropriate sense of gravitas. But that doesn’t prevent him from allowing the absurdity of the situation to speak for itself, and this is where Gosling’s acting chops really take charge.
If you take a close look at Half Nelson, a depressing story of public school indolence and discord among lower-class citizens, there’s no doubt that the best moments are the funny ones. Not funny-haha, of course—the “interrupting cow” joke that closes the film isn’t supposed to make you laugh—but funny by way of their impeccable realism. For example: Gosling’s character, an unhappy schoolteacher, smokes crack with a pair of intoxicated women and tries to justify his job. “If you can
help one student…” he begins, presumably on track to finish with, “you’ve done your job.” One of his female companions interrupts him, “You can help them all!” she guesses. Gosling winces. “No, that’s not it…”
It’s a hilarious moment of frustration—sad but true. It delivers profound humor that no punchline could possibly muster. In Lars and the Real Girl, Gosling pulls off this tricky tactic over and over again, constantly provoking laughs as Lars appears blissfully unaware of his crazed behavior. It might make the ladies swoon, but it’ll also make them think.
Directed by Craig Gillespie
I didn’t realize Ryan Gosling had become such a glamorous chick magnet until I witnessed dozens of ecstatic girls howling his name. He was striding down the red carpet premiere for his latest movie vehicle, Lars and the Real Girl, and the screams were incessant. Everyone reacted to my ignorance with disgust: “What? You didn’t know he was a star? Everybody loves that guy!”
Really? Let’s look at the facts: Gosling, a dapper 26-year-old whose main physical attractions are a trim physique and an everyman grin, has very few substantial movie credits that would’ve enhanced his celebrity stature. It wasn’t until 2006, with his impressive performance in the runaway indie hit Half Nelson, that Gosling garnered widespread accolades. He deserved them all—even more so than the movie—as he did the subsequent Academy Award nomination. But Gosling remained fairly press-shy during that time, particularly when he neglected to take an active role in the blitzkrieg Oscar campaigning.
For a guy who keeps a pretty low profile, Gosling certainly draws a lot of attention to himself. It’s hard to imagine that this comes solely from his talent as a performer—his recent fling with Rachel McAdams probably helps—although it’s an alluring idea. Gosling has other great credits to his name, like the vicious Nazi punk in 2001’s The Believer, but these aren’t the sort of performances that girls drooling over Us Weekly photos usually seek out. Nevertheless, if flocks of Gosling fans have absorbed his increasingly impressive filmography simply to witness his handsome mug, more to power to ‘em.
Judging from the specificity of his roles, Gosling has got to be one of the most unconventional movie stars in years. Should his glitzy stature convince fans to check out the wonderfully bizarre humor of Lars and the Real Girl, then maybe there’s a virtuous point to this luminary business after all.
Gosling made a bold choice for this project: The movie is directed by Craig Gillespie, whose sole feature film credit prior to Lars was the long-delayed comedy Mr. Woodcock, a movie that finally popped into theaters a few weeks ago. But Gillespie’s sophomore outing seems destined to be perceived as his true emergence as an artist. On one level, it’s a tragic psychological drama focused on the hopelessly depressed Lars (Gosling), a confused bachelor living out his days in the garage adjacent to the home of his brother (Paul Schneider) and his earnestly concerned wife (Emily Mortimer). The couple worries about Lars’ social alienation, but it isn’t until he orders a life-size sex doll over the Internet and sincerely believes that he’s acquired a living, breathing girlfriend that they decide to seek psychological help. The brilliant doctor (Patricia Clarkson) concocts a cure as unconventional as the rest of the plot, convincing Lars’ family—in addition to the whole damn community—to pretend his object of desire is a real woman. By sustaining the illusion, the shrink discovers the truth behind Lars’ disorder, which I dare not reveal.
It’s a trick of subtle maneuvering that enables Lars and the Real Girl to be so earnestly funny. One can imagine the kind of grotesque mindlessness the Farrelly Brothers would’ve brought to this material (Does Lars have sex with his doll? How would that work? Who cares?) without bothering to contemplate its realistic implications. We never doubt that Lars’ delusion stems from a serious mental health issue, and Gillespie gives the situation an appropriate sense of gravitas. But that doesn’t prevent him from allowing the absurdity of the situation to speak for itself, and this is where Gosling’s acting chops really take charge.
If you take a close look at Half Nelson, a depressing story of public school indolence and discord among lower-class citizens, there’s no doubt that the best moments are the funny ones. Not funny-haha, of course—the “interrupting cow” joke that closes the film isn’t supposed to make you laugh—but funny by way of their impeccable realism. For example: Gosling’s character, an unhappy schoolteacher, smokes crack with a pair of intoxicated women and tries to justify his job. “If you can
help one student…” he begins, presumably on track to finish with, “you’ve done your job.” One of his female companions interrupts him, “You can help them all!” she guesses. Gosling winces. “No, that’s not it…”
It’s a hilarious moment of frustration—sad but true. It delivers profound humor that no punchline could possibly muster. In Lars and the Real Girl, Gosling pulls off this tricky tactic over and over again, constantly provoking laughs as Lars appears blissfully unaware of his crazed behavior. It might make the ladies swoon, but it’ll also make them think.
