Lars and the Real Girl

Play trailer

Lars and the Real Girl

PG-13

Released Oct 12, 2007

1h 47m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

137 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Extremely shy Lars (Ryan Gosling) finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer) worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on the Internet, they are overjoyed. But Lars' new lady is a life-size plastic woman. On the advice of a doctor (Patricia Clarkson), his family and the rest of the community go along with his delusion.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Lars and the Real Girl could've so easily been a one-joke movie. But the talented cast, a great script, and direction never condescends to its character or the audience.

Read Critics Reviews

Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Lars and the Real Girl not only wimps out but has also, at its heart, a fake doll that may be the least fake thing in it.

Aug 23, 2018

Full Review

Liz Hoggard

London Evening Standard

The film is often very funny. The acting is first-class, especially Gosling, who never patronises his character.

Jan 11, 2018

Full Review

Andrea Gronvall

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

It's a heartfelt film, unexpectedly making us laugh at, yet feel for, the complex, damaged main character and his hopeful real-life romance.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

Gayle Sequeira

BFI

Lars and the Real Girl is a tragicomic examination of male loneliness.

Jul 29, 2023

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…plays nicely with questions about how best to deal with delusion…

Rated: 4/5

Jul 20, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

rebecca l

This is such a touching movie. Yeah it has a real doll but stop being so dramatic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/23/25

Full Review

Audience Member

I didn't like it... what even is this

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/25

Full Review

Peter A

This is all about Lars and the community who support his delusion, for the love of Lars. All of the characters were real, which made Bianca real. Wonderful acting and direction. The choice of 'odd bod' Ryan Gosling for the part of Lars was inspirational. This was strange, but so is life. Loved it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/21/25

Full Review

maureen b

One of my all-time favorite films. It's perfection. Don't touch it. Don't breathe too hard on it. It's Magic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is ironic because it is both sad and hilarious. I'm not sure if it leans more towards comedy or drama, but it is unique and strange—simultaneously unbelievable yet very realistic. I can’t pinpoint what makes it unique, but that irony makes it a great film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/03/25

Full Review

Ian H

Lovely film. Great cast. Great sentiment. Sweet and funny

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/12/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Craig Gillespie

Director

Ryan Gosling

Lars

Paul Schneider

Gus

Emily Mortimer

Karin

Patricia Clarkson

Dagmar

Kelli Garner

Margo

Waitress

89%

74%

Waitress

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Waitress

In the Land of Women

43%

52%

In the Land of Women

Watchlist

Elizabethtown

27%

66%

Elizabethtown

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Elizabethtown

Chaos Theory

30%

58%

Chaos Theory

Watchlist

Catch and Release

23%

55%

Catch and Release

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Tony Hale’s Five Favorite Films

Ryan Gosling’s 10 Best Movies

Now Streaming: The Big Lebowski, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, E.T., and More

View more photos

Synopsis

Extremely shy Lars (Ryan Gosling) finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer) worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on the Internet, they are overjoyed. But Lars' new lady is a life-size plastic woman. On the advice of a doctor (Patricia Clarkson), his family and the rest of the community go along with his delusion.

Director: Craig Gillespie
Producer: Sarah Aubrey, John Cameron, Sidney Kimmel
Screenwriter: Nancy Oliver
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sex-Related Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 12, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.9M
Runtime: 1h 47m

Most Popular at Home Now