January 16, 2008 -- Most movies don't do a very good job portraying small towns. Usually, Hollywood depicts small towns as places where murdering monsters hang out, where closeted killers lurk next door, where empty, mean-spirited, or dispirited people live lives that are shiny on the surface, but hollow inside. Small towns are where church-going people are narrow-minded, bigoted and dangerous. This movie is about a small town that is more like Cicely, Alaska, that is, more normal than the Hollywood version.

Lars (Ryan Gosling of “Half Nelson”) is a troubled man who can't interact with people. He doesn't like to be touched. He spends most of his time alone. He's never had a girlfriend. One day all that changes. He buys a life-sized sex doll and introduces it to his brother Gus (Paul Schneider of “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and his brother's wife Karin (Emily Mortimer of “The Pink Panther”) as his real girlfriend, Bianca. He treats Bianca like a real person, but does not have sex with her. Instead, he treats her like a woman raised by nuns. Dismayed, Gus and Karin persuade Lars to take Bianca to the local doctor, Dr. Dagmar Berman (Patricia Clarkson of “Pieces of April”). The good doctor declares that Bianca “has low blood pressure” and needs to come in weekly for treatments, which are really psychotherapy sessions for Lars. Patiently, she begins to understand the issues that Lars is working through with Bianca. Lars, with Bianca's help, starts to interact more with other people.

The real story is how Gus and Karin and the rest of the people in this small town work to help Lars and Bianca. Typical is one scene with members of the local church where Lars worships. The group discusses whether Bianca should be allowed in church. The minister says, “What would Jesus do?” Bianca is allowed in church. She goes to the beauty parlor every week and volunteers to read to children at the hospital. The idea seems to be to use all these activities as a clever way to wean Lars from his dependence on Bianca. As Bianca spends more time away from Lars, his eyes wander to a beautiful woman at work, Margo (Kelli Garner of “Thumbsucker”). Is Lars ready to take the next step, a relationship with a real girl? I went into this thinking it was a sex comedy. Instead, it is a portrait of a wounded man and how he is healed in the loving arms of a community who embraces him and his eccentricities. It is as sweet a portrait of small town life as you are ever likely to see. It rates an A.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2008 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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