Lars and the Real Girl

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Lars and the Real Girl

PG-13

Released Oct 12, 2007

1h 47m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

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Popcornmeter

81%

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137 Reviews

84%

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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Andrea Gronvall

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 18, 2011

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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

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Gayle Sequeira

BFI

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

Jul 29, 2023

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

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

Rated: 4/5

Jul 20, 2023

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Rhyan D

A kind and lovely film. Ryan Gosling is truly one of the greatest actors of this generation!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/11/25

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Griffith J.

Awkward & strange in a bittersweet way. A great screenplay & Gosling’s acting bring a silly idea into something meaningful & unique. A calm, kind perspective on mental illness with a moving message of community.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/03/25

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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

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Audience Member

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

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/25

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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

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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

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Craig Gillespie

Director

Ryan Gosling

Lars

Paul Schneider

Gus

Emily Mortimer

Karin

Patricia Clarkson

Dagmar

Kelli Garner

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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

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