Lars and the Real Girl Leads a Stellar Pack in 2007

The year 2007 was a very significant one for me in terms of pop culture, though not so much because of movies. It was in 2007 that I finally was able to start watching LOST in prime time, and even more notably, it was in 2007 that the final installment of the Harry Potter series - which I can honestly say was the most highly anticipated book of my life - hit bookshelves. Nonetheless, 2007 also marked the year-long return of my friend Dan, an aspiring screenwriter, and he saw to it that I would be more prepared for the Oscars in 2008 than I ever had been before. It was also the year my friend Beth send me a trial subscription to Netflix and got me hooked. Consequently, I have, to date, seen more than 40 movies that were released in 2007. It was a good year for movies. These were my ten favorites.

Music and Lyrics - This one came out on Valentine's Day, and my friend Libbie and I had planned to see it opening day, then head home in time for a joint viewing of LOST, which turned out to be one of the most romantic episodes in the show's history. But a blizzard kept us from doing either, so on the 15th we headed out to see whether this Hugh Grant / Drew Barrymore flick would be as endearing as the commercials suggested. We ended up liking it even better than we'd hoped. It was sweet, funny and romantic. It inspired the aspiring songwriter within me. And Libbie and I still randomly burst into Pop! Goes My Heart sometimes; that cheesy mock-'80s video that starts the film is worth the rental price all by itself.

Bridge to Terabithia - I'd been looking forward to this one for a while, as the book had been a favorite ever since I first read it at the age of ten or so. My cousin and I were so inspired by it that we spent several family get-togethers plotting a theatrical adaptation of it, a project that eventually fell apart when we realized we couldn't really do it justice with only two actors. Thankfully, Walden Media had plenty of actors at its disposal, and all performed admirably. I was a little worried about how faithful this would be to the book, since the previews made it look more like a fantasy epic, but ultimately I was very impressed with the results.

Spider-Man 3 - I saw three "part three" movies in the month of May, all on opening night, as I'd decided that it was my duty as a movie reviewer to see as many blockbusters as I could, as early as possible. Pirates of the Caribbean was fun but convoluted, while Shrek the Third was mostly disappointing, but I found I really liked Spider-Man 3. I think it helped that I was pretty much unfamiliar with the comics; I understand Sam Raimi played fast and loose with canon here. In any case, I got caught up in the humor and adrenaline of the movie, and the enthusiastic audience helped make it one of my most enjoyable opening-night experiences.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - The fifth movie was, of course, just an appetizer before the long-awaited meal of the seventh book. Nonetheless, I was excited about it, in part because it was the first film in the franchise I actually managed to see in the theater. While I wish the running time hadn't been quite so slim, I loved the creative use of montages and newspaper headlines to convey a lot of information at once, often in a humorous manner. And the introduction of Luna, possibly my favorite female character in the series, was fantastic.

Hot Fuzz - When I saw a preview for this one, I suspected it would be my kind of movie, at least mostly; I'm not big on violence, but it looked like this murder mystery would keep most of the mayhem off-screen. It was my brother, who'd never heard of the movie before, who wound up seeing it first; he liked it so much he bought it as soon as it came out on DVD, and I watched it with him and spent half the movie doubled over with laughter. Simon Pegg is hilarious as the uptight cop sent to Nowheresville, England because the rest of the London force is getting tired of him one-upping them. But it was Nick Frost who really won me over as his dim-witted, gold-hearted deputy. Definitely a winning team.

Enchanted - The return of the Disney movie musical! This felt like a throwback to the likes of Mary Poppins and Pete's Dragon, not to mention the fully animated princess tales it so joyfully spoofs. Amy Adams is radiant as the naive, sugary-sweet princess yanked from her animated world into the mean streets of New York. The movie really hinges on her performance, as well as the wonderful songs that simultaneously honor and parody Disney classics like Be Our Guest and Whistle While You Work.

Ratatouille - Somehow, I never managed to catch this one in theaters, which surprised me given my great love for Pixar. But my brother Nathan received it for Christmas, so I ended up ringing in the New Year with a rat named Remy. This is a more adult-oriented film than most Pixar flicks; with all the references to fine cuisine and French culture, I wouldn't be surprised if some kids tuned out before the movie was over. Nonetheless, the animation is beautiful, the story is inspiring, and the expertly written and delivered dialogue of Anton Ego is as delicious as the dish he so lovingly describes.

No Country for Old Men - If you'd given me a primer on this movie before it came out and asked me whether I thought I would like it, I'm sure my answer would have been no. I don't know how it is that I failed to have any idea what it was about before I saw it, but when my dad and brother whisked me off to watch it with them, I only knew it had gotten Oscar buzz. I soon discovered why. Yes, it's horribly violent. One of the most violent movies I've ever seen. Yet it's also extremely funny, and brimming with humanity, in large part due to the reflective sheriff so perfectly portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones. I was rooting for this one to get the Best Picture Oscar and was most gratified when it succeeded.

Juno - I didn't see this until my birthday, which is nearly halfway through February; it was one of the last notches on my Oscar readiness belt. Easily the most uplifting of the five Best Picture nominees, this tale of a plucky teen negotiating unexpected pregnancy resulting from a single fling with her endearingly awkward best friend won me over quickly. I loved the clever dialogue, the compassionate relationships, the quirky soundtrack. A cheerful gem of a film.

Lars and the Real Girl - I've listed the rest of my top 10 in the order in which I saw them, but I'm stepping out of order for this one, which I never would have seen if Dan hadn't dragged Libbie and me to the theater with him. I'd read a blurb in Entertainment Weekly, but it left me with the impression that this was some sort of raunchy futuristic comedy, and I wasn't exactly reeled in. So imagine my surprise when I found myself unable to stop smiling practically from the moment the movie started! This gentle, Capra-esque film about a socially inept, emotionally damaged young man who learns to interact with the world with some help from a life-size doll and an understanding community is one of the funniest, most tender films I've ever watched. While it's hard to begrudge Diablo Cody's win with Juno, I really would have loved to see this one take home top honors for its unique, life-affirming screenplay.

A good year for movies, to be sure. I recommend them all. But most of all, I recommend Lars and the Real Girl, which didn't get nearly enough attention. For me, it was the sweetest movie surprise of the year.

There's Nothing Plastic About Lars and the Real Girl

I joined my friends for a late-night showing of Lars and the Real Girl armed only with the knowledge that it starred Ryan Gosling, who won me over in The Notebook (though not as much as James Garner in the same role), and that it involved a "love doll" who Lars introduces as his girlfriend. All I could think was of Jude Law in A.I.; I assumed this was some sort of crude futuristic comedy about a man's extended relationship with what amounts to a mechanical prostitute. I expected her to walk and talk and betray only the slightest indications that she was not biologically based. Boy, was I in for a surprise!

We see from the film's opening scenes that Lars Lindstrom (Gosling) is severely socially stunted. He lives in a large garage on the property of the house where Gus (Paul Schneider), his distant older brother, lives with his compassionate, pregnant wife Karin (Emily Mortimer), and though she tries valiantly to coax him out of his isolation, Lars merely smiles blandly, blinks rapidly and retreats into his own private world from which he emerges only for church on Sundays and work during the week. It's on the job that he learns about a company from which he can purchase a life-size, anatomically correct doll. Ignoring the timid advances of Margo (Kelli Garner), a sweet, broad-grinned co-worker, he investigates further...

When an enormous package arrives at his door six weeks later, we all have a pretty good idea what it is, but Karin and Gus don't, so they're ecstatic when a giddy Lars rings on their doorbell to announce that he has a visitor and, out of a sense of propriety, he would like permission for her to stay in their guest room rather than in the garage with him. And then they meet Bianca, whose name does not appear on the cast list because there is nothing remotely human about her. She is nothing but a life-size doll with a glazed expression and an inability to stand up. Hence, she must sit in a wheelchair, which Lars must purchase for her because, as he explains in his first real conversation since the start of the movie, it was lost along with the rest of her luggage on the plane from Brazil. To Lars, Bianca is very real, and as he converses with her at the dinner table, Gus and Karin exchange looks of alarm. Lars clearly has lost his mind.

But a small stroke of genius by Karin lands them in the office of Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), a doctor who, under the guise of treating Bianca for a mysterious illness, initiates weekly psychiatric sessions with Lars in which she patiently encourages him to reveal his buried feelings bit by bit. Meanwhile, she advises the reluctant Karin and incredulous Gus to act as though Bianca is real. Rather than keep up this ruse on their own, they alert their friends, their pastor and the most prominent members of their congregation. Soon, the whole town knows about Bianca, and the already close-knit community grows even closer as they rally around her, adopting her as a sort of mascot and almost forgetting themselves that she's nothing but a hunk of plastic.

Gosling is fantastic as Lars, whose insecurities run so deep that physical contact with another person is literally painful for him. In the beginning, he seems to have no concept of how to interact normally with others. He stares blankly when people speak to him, often not acknowledging them at all. But something happens when Bianca arrives. He begins to act like a normal person. Yes, he spends half his time talking to a doll and inventing her end of the conversation, which only he can hear, but he also talks to the people around him, coming out of his shell gradually, to the point where he is attending parties and accepting Margo's invitation to go bowling, which never would have happened before Bianca. Although most people initially regard him as a freak for believing that this doll is alive, through her he is able to finally begin really living. Gosling's transformation from almost robotically awkward, complete with a unique collection of tics, to fully functional within the community at large is dramatic and totally believable.

Everyone in the cast is equally impressive. I loved Mortimer, who brought gentleness coupled with a fierce spirit to this very concerned sister-in-law who in many ways seems to act like the mother Lars never knew. Schneider's expressive face enhances the comedy of the film's strangest moments. Gus is less willing to go along with the charade than just about anyone else in town, and as such he probably echoes the reaction of many watching the movie. He's the voice of reason in an unreasonable series of events, but he slowly comes to discover that if you care enough about a person, you're willing to put aside your dignity for his well-being.

There is a definite Pinocchio-ish strain through this movie as everyone around Lars hopes that his love for Bianca will eventually be replaced with love for a "real girl". The girl in question is Margo, and Garner is absolutely winning as this understanding young woman who is so fond of Lars despite, or perhaps because of, all his oddities. Once she recovers from her initial shock, she treats Bianca warmly and is careful to make only overtures of friendship to Lars, lest it appear she is trying to sabotage his relationship. The blue fairy would be the magnanimous Dagmar, and Clarkson wonderfully conveys her professionalism and quiet willingness to listen and not to judge. She allows Lars to call all the shots in his courtship with Bianca and in his decisions to share the secrets he has long kept submerged.

Each of Lars' neighbors has something to contribute to his development, from the kindly secretary at work to the feisty elderly woman at church who is especially attentive to him. The movie was filmed in Ontario, and Adam Kimmel's cinematography offers lots of sparse, snowy landscapes, which look at once forbidding and inviting. David Tom's simple guitar-based score complements the landscape perfectly. As far as I noticed, the name of the town was never mentioned, nor the location. I assumed it to be somewhere in the northern reaches of Wisconsin or Minnesota, but perhaps it's meant to take place in Canada. I guess it doesn't really matter; the ambiguity lends the film more universality.

Every element of this movie, which was filmed in a month and looks like it didn't cost very much, is perfectly in place, from the excellent cast to Craig Gillespie's direction. They take Nancy Oliver's unconventional but beautiful screenplay and make it seem perfectly plausible. Sure, the community is idealized; it's one thing to accept Lars' fantasy with a wink and a nod, quite another to rush Bianca off by ambulance and admit her into the emergency room. Then again, in such a small town, the hospital probably doesn't have a lot of patients to deal with at any given time and can afford to play along for the sake of a townsperson who, by the end of the film, can have no doubt as to how much he is loved. If everyone grows to care about Bianca, who takes on a fabled philanthropic life of her own like Captain Tuttle, the officer Hawkeye invents in one of my favorite episodes of M*A*S*H, it's because they are willing to go to such great lengths to sustain the happiness of their delusional friend and help him to become an active part of the community.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of Lars and the Real Girl, but I certainly wasn't prepared for something this tender and touching, a movie that made me feel good about being a person and hopeful for our ability to work together for the good of others, even if our first inclination is to scoff and scorn. As I sat in the theater with a sparse sprinkling of other viewers, I don't think the smile ever left my face. Who knew that a movie about a plastic doll would have so much to say about humanity?