Who knew things would get so interesting when Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) brought his new girlfriend Bianca over to big brother Gus’ (Paul Schneider) house for dinner? But that’s exactly what they do, the older sibling and his pregnant wife Karin (Emily Mortimer) shocked to discover this woman from the internet isn’t so much a real girl as she is a Real Doll, an amazingly lifelike silicon sex toy Lars claims to love.

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is looking for a doll to date in MGM's Lars and the Real Girl

Unsure what to do or how to handle the situation, the couple turns to the family’s physician and the small Midwestern town’s only practicing psychologist Dr. Berman (Patricia Clarkson) for advice. She in turn urges them to go along with the young man’s delusion, figuring the only way to discover what it is deep down inside of Lars keeping him from connecting with others is to support him in his current dilemma.

Soon the entire town, including bewitchingly eccentric office worker Margo (Kelli Garner), is working together to help maintain the illusion, Bianca suddenly going to church, modeling for a dress shop, attending school board meetings and heading with her beau to social events. But what no one could suspect is that this love and respect for Lars could bleed over to the doll he calls girlfriend, this inanimate mannequin opening everyone’s eyes in ways none of them ever imagined.

I absolutely adored Lars and the Real Girl. Funny, tender, moving and deeply emotional, I was not remotely prepared for just how intoxicatingly sweet this beguiling dramatic comedy was going to prove to be. Six Feet Under scribe Nancy Oliver and director Craig Gillespie (definitely making up for the hideous Mr. Woodcock) have crafted something unique and wonderful here, and as I tried to dry my tears while stifling my giggles I couldn’t help but be amazed by just how quietly wonderful this film truly was.

Everything here works. Gillespie hits the perfect tone right from the start, the opening moments a sublime cross between the Coen Brothers, Frank Capra, Wes Anderson and George Cukor. Lars lives in his own world, something twisting his view of things just a wee bit sideways. But the director never panders, never goes for the easy joke ridiculing either the man or what it is he’s going through. Instead, much like the townspeople the film does what it can to try and understand and relate to him opening viewer’s eyes in passionate wonder much a like new Spring blossom showcasing its petals for the very first time.

It helps immensely that Oliver’s script is a minor revelation. The author refuses to take the easy way out but, just as importantly, she also refuses to treat her characters as anything other than real flesh and blood human beings. These are people we can recognize, families and individuals we see in one form or another each and every day. They are our coworkers, our neighbors, our friends, and as such Oliver has just as much faith in the truths behind their stories as she does in Lars.

Speaking of Lars, it probably goes without saying Gosling is magnificent here. I’ve come down a little bit on him in the past for doing too many characters that were all alike, his creations in films as diverse as The Believer, Stay, The Notebook and (Oscar nomination or no) Half Nelson not near as different as you would probably think. But after his work here (as well as in Fracture earlier this year) any reservations I had for the actor can be considered erased. Hands down, this is one of the year’s best performances, and watching Gosling at work is as joyous a thing to behold as any I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing in 2007. 

The rest of the cast matches him, Clarkson, Mortimer and especially Garner crafting indelible portraits I couldn’t help but take comfort in. But it is the dynamic threesome of Gillespie, Oliver and Gosling who deserve the majority of the accolades, each of them taking a tale that could have easily drifted into grotesque perversity and instead transforming it into a delicately life-affirming aria of community and family impossible to resist. Without question, Lars and the Real Girl is the best comedy (and one of the best films) I’ve seen this year, and I didn’t have to be made of plastic to say it. 

Film Rating: êêê1/2  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  Lars and the Real Girl Theatrical Trailer