100 movies: Lars and the Real Girl

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100 movies of 2012
Every year I set myself a target, usually of about 100, of films to watch. These are new films. Not new, new films. But films that are new to me. Any time I’ve seen a new one, I post a bit of a brain dump of my thoughts on the film here. Enjoy!

Lars and the Real GirlLars and the Real Girl (28/11/12)

A delusional young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.

Is it okay for me to call his film adorable? Because that’s exactly how I feel about this film. Maybe not in the beginning, but as the film picks up pace, it just made me want to say ‘aww’.

Before the ‘aww’ though, things are a little weird. For one thing, Ryan Gosling has something bizarre attached to his face! Oh, it’s a weird fuzzy moustache thing. Ryan Gosling plays the awkward Lars. He keeps to himself and goes about his life on his own. Despite all of the attempts of his sister-in-law. That is until he finds himself a girlfriend. On the Internet. Called Bianca. Who’s made of plastic.

What I really loved about this film was that it was more than just Lars’ delusion about Bianca, but it was about this whole town of people who come to accept Lars and Bianca and they get over their own issues about it. It’s a very touching film especially at the end. Yes, I did cry. It got very emotional! Not just over the loss of Bianca, but the journey that Lars’ had been on throughout the film and his relationship with Bianca. And how that was him helping himself.

Lars and the Real Girl was a lot more touching than I ever thought it was going to be. While I wasn’t expecting a laugh a minute, I wasn’t expecting such a heart warming film. Especially as, on the surface, it’s a film about a man and his plastic doll of a girlfriend.
Rating: 4/5

Read on to see all the films watched this year…

84 Films so far this year

  1. The Tourist 1/5 (02/01/12)
  2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5/5 (03/01/12)
  3. World’s Greatest Dad 2/5 (14/01/12)
  4. Haywire 3/5 (19/01/12)
  5. Dead Snow 3/5 (20/01/12)
  6. The Artist 5/5 (21/01/12)
  7. Priest 2/5 (05/02/12)
  8. The Muppets 5/5 (15/02/12)
  9. Faster 4/5 (19/02/12)
  10. Chronicle 4/5 (22/02/12)
  11. Safe House 4/5 (24/02/12)
  12. Reservoir Dogs 4/5 (25/02/12)
  13. This Means War 4/5 (02/03/12)
  14. The Royal Tenenbaums 3/5 (03/03/12)
  15. Reign of Fire 3/5 (04/03/12)
  16. Dear John 2/5 (04/03/12)
  17. Road to Perdition 5/5 (05/03/12)
  18. The Three Musketeers 3/5 (06/03/12)
  19. The Eagle 2/5 (10/03/12)
  20. Everybody’s Fine 2/5 (14/03/12)
  21. Frankenstein 4/5 (15/03/12)
  22. Love and Other Drugs 2/5 (15/03/12)
  23. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 2/5 (17/03/12)
  24. The Big Lebowski 5/5 (18/03/12)
  25. The Hunger Games 3/5 (23/03/12)
  26. Headhunters 4/5 (07/04/12)
  27. Super 1/5 (07/04/12)
  28. The Cabin in the Woods 5/5 (13/04/12)
  29. Watchmen 4/5 (14/04/12)
  30. The Hurt Locker 3/5 (21/04/12)
  31. Avengers Assemble 5/5 (26/04/12)
  32. 22 Bullets 2/5 (28/04/12)
  33. Bad Teacher 1/5 (29/04/12)
  34. Red Riding Hood 1/5 (04/05/12)
  35. A Perfect Getaway 4/5 (05/05/12)
  36. Ca$h 1/5 (13/05/12)
  37. Kung Fu Panda 2 3/5 (14/05/12)
  38. Everything Must Go 2/5 (24/05/12)
  39. New York, I Love You 2/5 (25/05/12)
  40. Beginners 4/5 (26/05/12)
  41. Prometheus 4/5 (03/06/12)
  42. The Tree of Life 2/5 (04/06/12)
  43. The Lovely Bones 3/5 (05/06/12)
  44. Snow White and the Huntsman 3/5 (06/06/12)
  45. The Devil’s Backbone 4/5 (07/06/12)
  46. Britain in a Day 5/5 (11/06/12)
  47. The French Connection 4/5 (15/06/12)
  48. Insomnia 3/5 (16/06/12)
  49. Rebel Without a Cause 4/5 (22/06/12)
  50. A Lonely Place to Die 3/5 (26/06/12)
  51. Killer Joe 3/5 (29/06/12)
  52. The Amazing Spider-Man 4/5 (03/07/12)
  53. Raising Arizona 4/5 (04/07/12)
  54. Horrible Bosses 4/5 (06/07/12)
  55. Broadcast News 3/5 (07/07/12)
  56. We Need to Talk About Kevin 4/5 (07/07/12)
  57. Miller’s Crossing 4/5 (18/07/12)
  58. The Dark Knight Rises 5/5 (20/07/12)
  59. 21 Jump Street 5/5 (29/07/12)
  60. The Mystery Team 3/5 (07/08/12)
  61. The Help 4/5 (11/08/12)
  62. The Bourne Legacy 3/5 (13/08/12)
  63. The Expendables 2 4/5 (17/08/12)
  64. Brave 5/5 (19/08/12)
  65. Dracula 3/5 (19/08/12)
  66. The Woman in Black 3/5 (24/08/12)
  67. The Mummy 4/5 (28/08/12)
  68. Lawless 3/5 (30/08/12)
  69. Real Steel 2/5 (31/08/12)
  70. [REC] 3 Genesis 2/5 (04/09/12)
  71. Take Shelter 4/5 (15/09/12)
  72. Dredd 3D 3/5 (19/09/12)
  73. The Apartment 5/5 (23/09/12)
  74. Young Frankenstein 5/5 (25/09/12)
  75. Looper 5/5 (28/09/12)
  76. Sinister 3/5 (10/10/12)
  77. Skyfall 5/5 (26/10/12)
  78. The Prince & Me 3/5 (31/10/12)
  79. Crazy, Stupid, Love 4/5 (03/11/12)
  80. Argo 5/5 (07/11/12)
  81. Super Troopers 3/5 (22/11/12)
  82. The Raid 5/5 (24/11/12)
  83. Moneyball 4/5 (27/11/12)
  84. Lars and the Real Girl 4/5 (28/11/12)

19 Comments

  1. I’m not a huge Gosling fan. *shock horror!* But, he actually did really well in this one. I loved that Bianca “read” to the kids and had a whole life just like a real person. I love the meltdown one of the town women have with Lars near the end saying, Bianca has a schedule she has to stick to. Just really well acted and heart warming.

  2. Sounds like a really heart-warming film. Not heard of it before so thanks for reviewing it. Will get it for one of my girlie-nights-in.

  3. I’m not a huge Ryan Gosling fan either (glad I’m not the only one who’s said it here, ahah) but I still want to see this. I do like Emily Mortimer!

    • Ha! All you non-fans are coming out of the woodworks! Emily Mortimer is sort of adorable in this film. She’s the kind of family member anyone would love to have in their family.

  4. I’ve always wanted to watch this movie, but just never got around to it. (I’m pretty sure you have some movies like that.)

    I’m glad that it’s a cute movie and not a depressing weird movie. I mean, the premise is a little out there. It kinda reminds me of those Japanese guys who are into these anime body pillows. It’s called daikimakura. It’s kinda weird. I’ve heard of guys actually marrying their pillow.

  5. So glad you liked this movie! I too was just charmed by how the whole town was trying to help him. It’s such a warm, optimistic film and Gosling was amazing here.

  6. Good review Jaina. It’s a very, very strange flick but Gosling and everybody else plays it so heartfelt, so perfectly, and so uniquely, that it ends up becoming a story we feel for and actually connect to, as where as that may sound.

  7. I didn’t know what to expect with this movie but was very pleasantly surprised by it. Glad you liked it, very gently film that somehow manages to not fall for the obvious and distasteful jokes about the premise.

  8. I just saw this couple of weeks ago! I rate the same score as you. Such an adorable story. The moustache was weird indeed. Nice to see him doing a different role other than a confident womanizer haha

  9. I’ve got this ready and raring to go on my Sky box…I knew it had received good reviews…thanks for confirming it’s well-worth seeing Jaina! 🙂

    • Am sure you’ll enjoy it. Probably a good one for the Christmas season – a sort of alternative heart-warming film 🙂

    • She is! Great to have her in The Newsroom. Even if her character makes me want to scream every now and then.

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