Lars and the Real Girl

We all do it. We all choose to believe the lie. We all know that Uncle Roger’s an alcoholic. We all know the CIA tortures people. We all know human beings evolved by natural selection. We all know there is no Santa Claus. But cumulatively we all decide we’ll pick a lie to believe in, because it makes us feel better and not have to face the truth. Lars and the Real Girl is a profound portrait of denial. It depicts what is possible when a community decides to believe a lie to help one of their own, thus taking responsibility for the mental health of a neighbor who they KNOW has a screw loose. Rather than ignore Lars and shun him, the people enable him to embrace the solution.

Reminiscent of Harvey and/or Mannequin, but with a Frank Capra degree of optimism in human kind, Lars and the Real Girl is so sincere it almost shouldn’t work. But it benefits from an amazing cast and a stellar performance by Ryan Gosling. Also, this movie is not about romantic love, so it avoids the creepiness that the love doll idea conjures. When the idea of romantic love does come into play, it boils down to the most basic and possibly the most difficult step for many people: asking someone out for the first time.

In many ways, Lars and the Real Girl is the antithesis of The Mist, wherein the community believes the lie until they all turn against each other. I suggest seeing both movies on the same day: The Mist first, then Lars and the Real Girl. It just might BLOW YOUR MIND! Conclusively, this is one of the best movies of the year.