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Parents' Guide to

Lars and the Real Girl

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Sex doll takes center stage in quirky comedy.

Movie PG-13 2007 106 minutes
Lars and the Real Girl Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 6 parent reviews

jenly
jenly Parent of 16, 18+ and 18+-year-old
February 16, 2021
age 12+

Lovely family friendly movie with good values

This is one of those gentle, quirky movies that are hard to put into a box. The plot is a bit farfetched, but the director strikes just the right tone and the excellent cast manage to pull it off. There is nothing tawdry or kinky here, and it is definitely a family friendly movie for older kids. At the core of it is the kindness and support displayed by Lars' family and the whole community. It's truly moving and inspiring--it almost feels like an antidote to current times. The two star rating is very unfair, imo. Also, before it began, my three teens all told me it sounded really stupid and there was no way they were going to watch it with me, but they wound up charmed from the beginning and laughed and shushed each other until the final credits.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
MomNom
MomNom Parent of 15-year-old
July 23, 2019
age 14+

Full of Heart

I absolutely love this gem of a movie. It is so unique and heartwarming... a rare treat. How on earth Common Sense Media can give it zero stars for Positive Message is beyond me... it should have 5 stars for Positive Message! The movie is ultimately about love and acceptance, with many wonderful moments reinforcing those themes throughout. Recommended for anyone old enough to understand what a sex doll is, just so that question doesn’t have to be addressed. Beyond the presence of the sex doll- and the website advertising it- there is no sex in this movie, but there is a LOT of heart.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

At the start of LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, Lars (Ryan Gosling) looks out on a bleak, wintry landscape. He's isolated and alone, even though he lives adjacent (albeit in a garage) to his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and his pregnant sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer).Lars, who works in a generic cubicle at a generic office, can pass for merely socially awkward. But when his co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner) develops a crush on him, he's unable to respond. Instead, he turns to a porn Web site, where he orders a lifelike sex doll. She arrives in a box, and he names her Bianca and introduces her to Gus and Karin as his long-distance girlfriend who's come to visit. With eyebrows raised and glances exchanged, they go along with him, suggesting that they all take Bianca to see Dr. Berman (Patricia Clarkson). Kindly and wise in the way that small-town doctors tend to be in the movies, she advises letting Lars gradually work out whatever trauma he's apparently feeling. "Chances are," she says, "he's been decompensating for some time."

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (6 ):

Lars and the Real Girl is commendable for celebrating the healing powers of quirk. But Craig Gillespie's movie is premised on some tedious and seemingly comforting truisms related to the "unfathomable" mysteries of women and pregnancy. The townsfolk rally round Lars, accepting Bianca as a "real girl," inviting her to parties, volunteering her for community service, bringing her to the hospital to visit with sick kids, etc. Bianca, for all her blankness, is a vehicle for Lars' reintegration into the community. While it's disheartening that she must follow a typical plot route in order to serve that function, the film features an appealing performance by Gosling.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether the movie seems at all realistic -- and, for that matter, whether it's intended to. Does the doctor do the right thing in letting Lars believe in Bianca's existence? Do you think it's believable that the townspeople play along? What do you think the movie's overall message is?

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