"Families are about love overcoming emotional torture." -Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons
Every family has a tad bit of crazy going on. Some families hide their crazy, some revel in it and some may even deny its existence. Growing up, my family simply embraced it. In fact, somewhere along the way, we coined the phrase "crazy family fun".
RW: Hey mom, I bought my plane tickets for December today.
Mom: Great, honey. It's going to be crazy family fun.
Perhaps my upbringing with the mentally unstable (as I refer to them affectionately) was a factor in why I found the film Lars and the Real Girl, directed by Craig Gillespie, so compelling. Released to DVD this summer, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Nancy Oliver. However, you may have overlooked the critically acclaimed dramedy in your Netflix cue since it was not a huge box office hit. So, Pink Rickshaw has added it to the "2008's best films you may have missed" file. The film stars Ryan Gosling (who fellow PR gal SD and I religiously follow on Popsugar), who was nominated for Golden Globe for Best Actor, for his take on the beautifully vulnerable Lars. In the movie, Lars, an isolated and socially awkward man, orders an anatomically correct "doll" named Bianca from an adult website. He then proceeds to introduce Bianca to his family as a woman he met over the Internet. Lars' family is forced to accept Bianca as Lars' girlfriend until they can get to the bottom of his bizarre behavior.
Eventually, Lars' family comes to accept Bianca and urges the members of the church and community to do the same, in an effort to protect Lars. As the relationship between Lars and Bianca grows, the movie brilliantly shows how the community rallies around a member of the community that they may not completely understand, but still feel compassion for. Paul Schneider movingly portrays Gus, Lars' brother; a man conflicted with his own guilt and confusion over Lars' condition. Patricia Clarkson is the surprise stand-out of the movie as Dr. Dagmar, the physician treating both Lars and Bianca. The writing is smart and poignant and the acting is brilliant. The DVD gives some insight into the film as well with Nancy Oliver revealing the inspiration for the story was the website that is prominently featured in the film; a real site that sells dolls like Bianca. But the story really comes down to Lars, his family and his extended family of the community. Anyone who watches will find a bit of comfort in the portrayal of a family with a whole lot of crazy going on.
PR rating: A manicured thumbs up. A must see and considering the subject matter, the film is the exact opposite of what one would expect: sweet and wholesome.
image source: Lars and the Real Girl movie still, Sidney Kimmel Entertaiment
-RW
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