Lars and the Real Girl
Encyclopedia
Lars and the Real Girl is a 2007 American-Canadian comedy-drama film written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie
. It stars Ryan Gosling
, Emily Mortimer
, Paul Schneider
, Kelli Garner
and Patricia Clarkson
. The film follows Lars (Gosling), a sweet yet quirky, socially inept young man, who develops a romantic relationship with an anatomically correct
sex doll
, a "RealDoll
" named Bianca, and the story of how his older brother (Schneider), his brother's wife (Mortimer), and the rest of the small town grow to accept and welcome Bianca into the community for Lars' sake, not realizing that she would touch all of their lives in such a profound way.
Despite not earning back its initial budget in theatrical release, Lars and the Real Girl was critically acclaimed. It earned an Academy Award nomination for "Best Writing (Original Screenplay)", while Gosling received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy" and a Screen Actors Guild
Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role".
One day Lars happily announces to Gus and Karin he has a visitor he met via the Internet
, a wheelchair
-bound missionary
of Brazilian and Danish
descent named Bianca. The two are startled to discover Bianca is, in fact, a lifelike doll Lars ordered from an adult website. Concerned about his mental health, they convince Lars to take Bianca to Dagmar, the family doctor who is also a psychologist
. Dagmar diagnoses Bianca with low blood pressure
and advises Lars he needs to bring her in for weekly treatments, during which she will attempt to analyze him and get to the root of his behavior. She explains to Gus and Karin that this is a delusion of his own creation and for his own reason and purpose, and she urges them to assist with Lars's therapy by treating Bianca as if she were a real woman. She treats him for delusional disorder
.
It is discovered that Lars's mother died during his birth, causing his father to change dramatically. These issues pushed Gus to leave home as soon as possible, leaving Lars to deal with a distant, heartbroken father alone. This also gives Lars an almost debilitating fear of having children that even Dagmar can't calm easily. Although Lars is responsible in every sense of the word for himself and now Bianca, his pain and discomfort is evidenced by the baby blanket he carries in almost every scene and the fact that he refuses any kind of intimacy, including touch. Bianca sleeps alone in "the pink room" (a guest room in the house), while Lars still sleeps in the converted garage.
As time passes, Lars begins to introduce Bianca as his girlfriend to his co-workers and various townspeople. Due to their care and concern for Lars, everyone treats Bianca as a real person, and she soon finds herself involved in volunteer programs, getting a makeover from the local beautician, and working part-time as a model in a clothing store. Due to their acceptance of Bianca, Lars soon finds himself interacting more with people. During this time Margo has begun to date another co-worker, which over time begins to seemingly bother Lars.
Lars has a conversation with his brother during which he asks when he knew he had become a man and what being a man means. His brother's explanation seems to reach Lars and his dependence on Bianca seems to immediately shift.
At work when a co-worker with whom Margo has been playing pranks
goes a bit too far, Lars comforts her. During the ensuing conversation, Margo reveals she has broken up with her boyfriend. She invites him to go bowling
, to which he responds that he has to take Bianca to a school-board
meeting that same evening. He accepts after mentioning that he can drop her off then go to the bowling alley; the two spend a pleasant evening together along with some other townsfolk. During an uncomfortable silence at the evening's end Lars is quick to remind Margo he could never cheat on Bianca. Although obviously disappointed, Margo replies that the thought never crossed her mind. As they part ways, Lars takes his glove off to shake Margo's hand and they have a moment when their hands are clasped.
One morning soon after, Lars announces that Bianca is unresponsive, and she is rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Once there, he tells his family the prognosis
is not good and that Bianca would like to be brought home. The news spreads through town, and everyone whose life has been touched by Bianca sends flowers or sits with Lars at the Lindstrom home. Gus and Karin ask Dagmar why this is happening, and she reveals that it is all Lars's own doing. They suggest that Lars and Bianca join them for a visit to the lake. While the couple is hiking, Lars kisses Bianca for the first time and shortly after tells his brother and sister-in-law that Bianca has died.
Bianca is given a funeral, to which all the townspeople attend. After Bianca is buried, Lars and Margo linger at the grave site, and his acceptance of his past has made him a whole man. When Margo states that she should catch up with everyone else, Lars asks her to take a walk, an offer she happily accepts.
release of the film, screenwriter Nancy Oliver reveals the inspiration for her script was an actual website, RealDoll.com
, which is featured prominently in the film.
The film, set in the American
state of Wisconsin
, was filmed with a US$
12 million budget on location in Alton
, Elora
, King Township, Toronto, Uxbridge
, and Whitevale
, all of which are located in the Canadian
province
of Ontario
.
Film credits include Rosalie MacKintosh as "Bianca wrangler" and Karly Bowen as "assistant Bianca wrangler."
in September 2007 before going into limited release
in the U.S. on October 12, 2007. It initially opened on seven screens in New York City
, New York
; and Los Angeles
, California
, and earned $90,418 on its opening weekend. It later expanded to 321 theaters and remained in release for 147 days, earning $5,972,884 domestically and $5,320,639 in foreign markets for a worldwide box-office total of $11,293,663.
The film was featured at the Austin Film Festival
, the Heartland Film Festival
, the Torino Film Festival
, the Glasgow Film Festival
, and the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival
.
, 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 120 reviews, and on Metacritic
, the film has an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
observed, "The film wisely never goes for even one moment that could be interpreted as smutty or mocking. There are so many ways [it] could have gone wrong that one of the film's fascinations is how adroitly it sidesteps them. Its weapon is absolute sincerity. It has a kind of purity to it."
Mick LaSalle
of the San Francisco Chronicle
called the film "a gentle comedy, offbeat but never cute, never lewd and never going for shortcut laughs that might diminish character."
Manohla Dargis
of The New York Times
said, "American self-nostalgia
is a dependable racket, and if the filmmakers had pushed into the realm of nervous truth, had given Lars and the town folk sustained shadows, not just cute tics and teary moments, it might have worked. Instead the film is palatable audience bait of average accomplishment that superficially recalls the plain style of Alexander Payne
, but without any of the lacerating edges or moral ambiguity."
Kenneth Turan
of the Los Angeles Times
described it as "the sweetest, most innocent, most completely enjoyable film around," "a film whose daring and delicate blend of apparent irreconcilables will sweep you off your feet if you're not careful. The creators of this film were fiercely determined not to go so much as a millimeter over the line into sentiment, tawdriness or mockery. It's the rare film that is the best possible version of itself, but Lars fits that bill."
Lou Lumenick
of the New York Post
awarded the film three out of four stars, calling it "an offbeat comedy that plays as if Preston Sturges
came back to life and collaborated with the Coen Brothers
on an updated version of the Jimmy Stewart
film Harvey
(1950). He added the script "eschews cheap laughs for character-driven humanist comedy, and is sensitively directed by Craig Gillespie."
Alissa Simon of Variety
stated, "Craig Gillespie's sweetly off-kilter film plays like a Coen brothers riff on Garrison Keillor
's Lake Wobegon
tales, defying its lurid premise with a gentle comic drama grounded in reality ... what's fresh and charming is the way the characters surrounding the protagonist
also grow as they help him through his crisis."
The film has received favorable reviews from Christian faith-based
media, and has been recommended as an instructional tool and a means for opening a dialogue on tolerance.
The film is rated PG in Australia and New Zealand.
Craig Gillespie
Craig Gillespie is an Australian film director best known for directing the 2007 films Lars and the Real Girl and the Fright Night remake.-Early life:...
. It stars Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
, Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
, Paul Schneider
Paul Schneider (actor)
Paul Andrew Schneider is an American film actor.-Early life and career:Schneider was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts...
, Kelli Garner
Kelli Garner
Kelli Brianne Garner is an American actress. Her credits include Man of the House, The Aviator, Bully and Thumbsucker. She appeared in two Green Day music videos "Jesus of Suburbia" and the unreleased ""...
and Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
. The film follows Lars (Gosling), a sweet yet quirky, socially inept young man, who develops a romantic relationship with an anatomically correct
Anatomically correct doll
An anatomically correct doll or anatomically precise doll is a doll with some of the primary and secondary sex characteristics of a human. In colloquial vernacular it usually refers to the genitals being depicted. This can be for realism or educational purposes, as well as to satisfy inanimate...
sex doll
Sex doll
A sex doll is a type of sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner for aid in masturbation....
, a "RealDoll
Realdoll
The RealDoll is a life-size sex doll manufactured by Abyss Creations in San Marcos, California, and sold worldwide. It has a poseable PVC skeleton with steel joints and silicone flesh, which is the state-of-the-art for life-like human body simulation...
" named Bianca, and the story of how his older brother (Schneider), his brother's wife (Mortimer), and the rest of the small town grow to accept and welcome Bianca into the community for Lars' sake, not realizing that she would touch all of their lives in such a profound way.
Despite not earning back its initial budget in theatrical release, Lars and the Real Girl was critically acclaimed. It earned an Academy Award nomination for "Best Writing (Original Screenplay)", while Gosling received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy" and a Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role".
Plot
Lars Lindstrom lives in the converted garage behind the house he and his brother Gus inherited from their father. His pregnant sister-in-law Karin's persistent attempts to lure him into the house for a family meal are usually rebuffed, and on the rare occasions he accepts, their conversation is stilted and he seems eager to leave as soon as he can. The young man finds it difficult to interact with or relate to his family, co-workers, or fellow parishioners in the church he regularly attends. Margo, Lars's co-worker, is clearly interested in him, but Lars runs silently from her at every chance he gets.One day Lars happily announces to Gus and Karin he has a visitor he met via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
-bound missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
of Brazilian and Danish
Danes
Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...
descent named Bianca. The two are startled to discover Bianca is, in fact, a lifelike doll Lars ordered from an adult website. Concerned about his mental health, they convince Lars to take Bianca to Dagmar, the family doctor who is also a psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
. Dagmar diagnoses Bianca with low blood pressure
Hypotension
In physiology and medicine, hypotension is abnormally low blood pressure, especially in the arteries of the systemic circulation. It is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease. It is often associated with shock, though not necessarily indicative of it. Hypotension is the...
and advises Lars he needs to bring her in for weekly treatments, during which she will attempt to analyze him and get to the root of his behavior. She explains to Gus and Karin that this is a delusion of his own creation and for his own reason and purpose, and she urges them to assist with Lars's therapy by treating Bianca as if she were a real woman. She treats him for delusional disorder
Delusional disorder
Delusional disorder is an uncommon psychiatric condition in which patients present with circumscribed symptoms of non-bizarre delusions, but with the absence of prominent hallucinations and no thought disorder, mood disorder, or significant flattening of affect...
.
It is discovered that Lars's mother died during his birth, causing his father to change dramatically. These issues pushed Gus to leave home as soon as possible, leaving Lars to deal with a distant, heartbroken father alone. This also gives Lars an almost debilitating fear of having children that even Dagmar can't calm easily. Although Lars is responsible in every sense of the word for himself and now Bianca, his pain and discomfort is evidenced by the baby blanket he carries in almost every scene and the fact that he refuses any kind of intimacy, including touch. Bianca sleeps alone in "the pink room" (a guest room in the house), while Lars still sleeps in the converted garage.
As time passes, Lars begins to introduce Bianca as his girlfriend to his co-workers and various townspeople. Due to their care and concern for Lars, everyone treats Bianca as a real person, and she soon finds herself involved in volunteer programs, getting a makeover from the local beautician, and working part-time as a model in a clothing store. Due to their acceptance of Bianca, Lars soon finds himself interacting more with people. During this time Margo has begun to date another co-worker, which over time begins to seemingly bother Lars.
Lars has a conversation with his brother during which he asks when he knew he had become a man and what being a man means. His brother's explanation seems to reach Lars and his dependence on Bianca seems to immediately shift.
At work when a co-worker with whom Margo has been playing pranks
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
goes a bit too far, Lars comforts her. During the ensuing conversation, Margo reveals she has broken up with her boyfriend. She invites him to go bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, to which he responds that he has to take Bianca to a school-board
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
meeting that same evening. He accepts after mentioning that he can drop her off then go to the bowling alley; the two spend a pleasant evening together along with some other townsfolk. During an uncomfortable silence at the evening's end Lars is quick to remind Margo he could never cheat on Bianca. Although obviously disappointed, Margo replies that the thought never crossed her mind. As they part ways, Lars takes his glove off to shake Margo's hand and they have a moment when their hands are clasped.
One morning soon after, Lars announces that Bianca is unresponsive, and she is rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Once there, he tells his family the prognosis
Prognosis
Prognosis is a medical term to describe the likely outcome of an illness.When applied to large statistical populations, prognostic estimates can be very accurate: for example the statement "45% of patients with severe septic shock will die within 28 days" can be made with some confidence, because...
is not good and that Bianca would like to be brought home. The news spreads through town, and everyone whose life has been touched by Bianca sends flowers or sits with Lars at the Lindstrom home. Gus and Karin ask Dagmar why this is happening, and she reveals that it is all Lars's own doing. They suggest that Lars and Bianca join them for a visit to the lake. While the couple is hiking, Lars kisses Bianca for the first time and shortly after tells his brother and sister-in-law that Bianca has died.
Bianca is given a funeral, to which all the townspeople attend. After Bianca is buried, Lars and Margo linger at the grave site, and his acceptance of his past has made him a whole man. When Margo states that she should catch up with everyone else, Lars asks her to take a walk, an offer she happily accepts.
Cast
- Ryan GoslingRyan GoslingRyan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
as Lars Lindstrom - Emily MortimerEmily MortimerEmily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
as Karin Lindstrom - Paul SchneiderPaul Schneider (actor)Paul Andrew Schneider is an American film actor.-Early life and career:Schneider was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts...
as Gus Lindstrom - R. D. ReidR. D. ReidR. D. Reid is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Sergeant Purley Stebbins in the A&E TV original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery , and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery . He appeared in Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead, and George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead...
as Reverend Bock - Kelli GarnerKelli GarnerKelli Brianne Garner is an American actress. Her credits include Man of the House, The Aviator, Bully and Thumbsucker. She appeared in two Green Day music videos "Jesus of Suburbia" and the unreleased ""...
as Margo - Nancy Beatty as Mrs. Gruner
- Doug LennoxDoug LennoxDoug Lennox is an Canadian actor, Writer and Radio Personality who is perhaps best known for his Book "Now You Know ,The Big Book of Answers" and his many appearances in movies such as X-Men and Police Academy. He also is known for his role as P.T. Boomer in Thomas and the Magic Railroad...
as Mr. Hofstedtler - Joe Bostick as Mr. Shaw
- Liz GordonLiz GordonElizabeth "Liz" Audrey Gordon , is a former New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1996 to 2002, representing the Alliance.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Schindler - Nicky GuadagniNicky GuadagniNicky Guadagni is a Canadian actress who has worked on stage, radio, film and television.-Career:Originally from Montreal, Nicky Guadagni majored in drama at Dawson College and went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her first role after graduation was playing Miranda, with...
as Mrs. Petersen - Patricia ClarksonPatricia ClarksonPatricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
as Dagmar - Karen Robinson as Cindy
- Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as Kurt
- Billy Parrott as Erik
- Sally CahillSally CahillSally Cahill is a Canadian voice actor and onscreen actress.She is known for providing the voice of Ada Wong in Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4 and The Darkside Chronicles...
as Deb - Angela Vint as Sandy
- Liisa Repo-Martell as Laurel
- Boyd BanksBoyd BanksBoyd Banks is a Canadian stand-up comedian known for doing edgy material, and actor.-Biography:Banks has appeared in such films as Bruiser , Wild Iris , Dawn of the Dead , Phil the Alien , Land of the Dead , Cinderella Man , Diary of The Dead and Pontypool...
as Russell - Darren Hynes as Moose
- Víctor Gómez as Hector
- Tommy ChangTommy ChangBorn and raised in Kyong Ki Do, South Korea, Master Tommy Chang is a Korean-Canadian world-renowned 7th degree Taekwondo instructor and Grandmaster, actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator and producer. With over 35 years of training and experience in Taekwondo, Master Chang also trained...
as Nelson - Arnold Pinnock as Baxter
- Joshua PeaceJoshua PeaceJoshua Peace also known as Josh Peace is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles on Devil as Detective Markowitz and in the films Cube Zero, You Might as Well Live and Survival of the Dead.-Filmography:*Unlucky as Bob...
as Jerry - Aurora BrowneAurora BrowneAurora Browne is a Canadian actress and comedian originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, currently based out of Toronto. In 2000, she was nominated for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award. Also in that year she was hired by Toronto's The Second City comedy troupe...
as Lisa - Alec McClureAlec McClureAlexander "Alec" McClure was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-half. He played for Birmingham both before and after the First World War, making 198 appearances in all competitions, and helped them to the championship of the Second Division in 1920–21.Born in Workington,...
as Steve - Tannis Burnett as Nurse Amy
- Lauren AshLauren AshLauren Ash is a Canadian comedic and dramatic actor.Recent television credits include Punched Up, Across the River to Motor City, Sketch with Kevin McDonald the CMT Canada fictionalized reality series The Wilkinsons and the Syfy original series Scare Tactics...
as Holly - Lindsey Connell as Victoria
Production
In The Real Story of Lars and the Real Girl, a special feature on the DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release of the film, screenwriter Nancy Oliver reveals the inspiration for her script was an actual website, RealDoll.com
Realdoll
The RealDoll is a life-size sex doll manufactured by Abyss Creations in San Marcos, California, and sold worldwide. It has a poseable PVC skeleton with steel joints and silicone flesh, which is the state-of-the-art for life-like human body simulation...
, which is featured prominently in the film.
The film, set in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, was filmed with a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
12 million budget on location in Alton
Caledon, Ontario
Caledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...
, Elora
Elora, Ontario
Elora is a community in the township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture, its artistic community and the geographically significant Elora Gorge.-History:...
, King Township, Toronto, Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...
, and Whitevale
Whitevale, Ontario
Whitevale is a hamlet located in the city of Pickering in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada.-History:Whitevale was an excellent example of nineteenth-century industry concentrating by a power source and then expanding of its own accord....
, all of which are located in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Film credits include Rosalie MacKintosh as "Bianca wrangler" and Karly Bowen as "assistant Bianca wrangler."
Release
The film premièred at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
in September 2007 before going into limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the U.S. on October 12, 2007. It initially opened on seven screens in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and earned $90,418 on its opening weekend. It later expanded to 321 theaters and remained in release for 147 days, earning $5,972,884 domestically and $5,320,639 in foreign markets for a worldwide box-office total of $11,293,663.
The film was featured at the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
, the Heartland Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."In May 2007, Heartland...
, the Torino Film Festival
Torino Film Festival
The Torino Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival...
, the Glasgow Film Festival
Glasgow Film Festival
Glasgow Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Glasgow, Scotland, started in 2005.-2010:2010's festival took place between 18-28th February. The opening gala featured Jean-Pierre Jeunet's latest film, Micmacs with the director there to present the film. Other guests included Peter...
, and the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival
The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival is an international film festival that is held in Las Palmas in the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The festival takes place every year...
.
Critical reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 120 reviews, and on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film has an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
observed, "The film wisely never goes for even one moment that could be interpreted as smutty or mocking. There are so many ways [it] could have gone wrong that one of the film's fascinations is how adroitly it sidesteps them. Its weapon is absolute sincerity. It has a kind of purity to it."
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
called the film "a gentle comedy, offbeat but never cute, never lewd and never going for shortcut laughs that might diminish character."
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said, "American self-nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
is a dependable racket, and if the filmmakers had pushed into the realm of nervous truth, had given Lars and the town folk sustained shadows, not just cute tics and teary moments, it might have worked. Instead the film is palatable audience bait of average accomplishment that superficially recalls the plain style of Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
, but without any of the lacerating edges or moral ambiguity."
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described it as "the sweetest, most innocent, most completely enjoyable film around," "a film whose daring and delicate blend of apparent irreconcilables will sweep you off your feet if you're not careful. The creators of this film were fiercely determined not to go so much as a millimeter over the line into sentiment, tawdriness or mockery. It's the rare film that is the best possible version of itself, but Lars fits that bill."
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
Louis J. "Lou" Lumenick is an American film critic. He is the chief film critic and a blogger for the New York Post and has reviewed films there since 1999.-Life and career:Lumenick was born and raised in Astoria, Queens...
of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
awarded the film three out of four stars, calling it "an offbeat comedy that plays as if Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
came back to life and collaborated with the Coen Brothers
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
on an updated version of the Jimmy Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
film Harvey
Harvey (film)
Harvey is a 1950 film based on Mary Chase's play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a pooka named Harvey—in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall invisible rabbit.-Plot:Elwood P...
(1950). He added the script "eschews cheap laughs for character-driven humanist comedy, and is sensitively directed by Craig Gillespie."
Alissa Simon of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated, "Craig Gillespie's sweetly off-kilter film plays like a Coen brothers riff on Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
's Lake Wobegon
Lake Wobegon
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Minnesota, said to have been the boyhood home of Garrison Keillor, who reports the News from Lake Wobegon on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion....
tales, defying its lurid premise with a gentle comic drama grounded in reality ... what's fresh and charming is the way the characters surrounding the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
also grow as they help him through his crisis."
The film has received favorable reviews from Christian faith-based
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
media, and has been recommended as an instructional tool and a means for opening a dialogue on tolerance.
The film is rated PG in Australia and New Zealand.
Nominations and awards
- Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. Before 1940, there was an Academy Award for Best Story for writing. For 1940, it and the award in this article were separated into two awards. Beginning with the...
(nominee) - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Ryan Gosling, nominee)
- Satellite Award for Best Picture — Musical or Comedy (nominee)
- Satellite Award for Best Actor — Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Ryan Gosling, winner)
- Satellite Award for Best Actress — Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Emily Mortimer, nominee)
- Satellite Award for Best Original ScreenplaySatellite Award for Best Original ScreenplayThe Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay is an annual award given by the International Press Academy.- 1990s :*1996: Lone Star*1996: The People vs...
(nominee) - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Ryan Gosling, nominee)
- Writers Guild of America AwardWriters Guild of America AwardThe Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
for Best Original Screenplay (nominee) - National Board of Review Awards 2007National Board of Review Awards 2007The 79th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in film for 2007, were given on 5 December 2007.-Top 10 Films:*The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford*Atonement*The Bourne Ultimatum*The Bucket List...
Top Ten Film Finalist - National Board of Review Award for Best Original ScreenplayNational Board of Review Awards 2007The 79th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in film for 2007, were given on 5 December 2007.-Top 10 Films:*The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford*Atonement*The Bourne Ultimatum*The Bucket List...
(winner, tied with JunoJuno (film)Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
) - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorThe Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...
(Ryan Gosling, nominee) - BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best WriterBFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best WriterThe Critics' Choice Award for Best Original and Adapted Screenplay is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association....
(nominee) - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorChicago Film Critics Association Awards 2007The 20th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given by the CFCA on December 13, 2007 honored the best in film for 2007.-Best Actor:Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood*George Clooney - Michael Clayton...
(Ryan Gosling, nominee) - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising DirectorChicago Film Critics Association Awards 2007The 20th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given by the CFCA on December 13, 2007 honored the best in film for 2007.-Best Actor:Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood*George Clooney - Michael Clayton...
(nominee) - Humanitas PrizeHumanitas PrizeThe Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
(winner, tied with The Diving Bell and the ButterflyThe Diving Bell and the ButterflyThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a translation of the French memoir Le scaphandre et le papillon by journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby. It describes what his life is like after suffering a massive stroke that left him with a condition called locked-in syndrome...
)