Lars and the Real Girl starring Ryan Gosling is not the movie I expected it to be. Its a movie about a guy who has a life size doll for a girlfriend, so I thought it would be kind of weird. Although it has its elements of weirdness, the writer, Nancy Oliver, makes it all understandable and acceptable. When Lars was born his mom died in childbirth leaving the whole responsibility of raising two sons to his dad. Apparently his dad was not well equipped to handle all this along with the loss of his beloved wife, but he did the best he could. Unfortunately this left Lars completely void of affection.
Years pass, the dad passes away and Lars is a man left all alone. He moves into the garage when his brother and sister-in-law move into the house and he has no experience in relating to them as people, let alone family. When people start to pressure Lars into having a relationship with a woman, he finds the safest answer he can come up with, a life size doll over the internet. She arrives in a box and he treats her as if she were a real woman and suddenly he's not afraid to go to his brother's house for dinner as long as he can bring Bianca, his "real girl" doll, with him.
All the members of the town end up having a part in his dilusion and Bianca becomes an important part of the community. Soon Lars has the courage to explore feelings that he has for the new girl at work and finds himself in a very confusing lovers' triangle. This movie is really a story about a whole community working together in love to help a man through his troubles. Its very heart warming and somehow restores my faith in human nature.