This movie was a real delight for me when I saw it for the first time. There is a gentle humour and innocence to it, which is as surprising as it is welcome. The film could have gone for cheap laughs, as so many movies regrettably- and boringly- do, but Lars and the Real Girl is never so unoriginal and tawdry. There are some great performances in this movie- especially by Gosling- but not just by the leads. The opinionated townspeople are all characters in their own right, ready to squabble amongst themselves but united in their desire to see Lars overcome the crippling emotional problems that plague him and keep him from forming relationships- whether familial or romantic- however much he wishes to do so.
This image is from the charming 2007 film Lars and the Real Girl. It stars Ryan Gosling as emotionally damaged Lars Lindstrom, a man who struggles to interact with society at large, or even with his own family- his brother Gus and sister-in-law Karin. Worried about Lars' isolation- both physical and mental- Gus and Karin are delighted when he comes to their door (he lives in a garage apartment in their backyard) to tell them that he has a girlfriend whom he met online and who is coming to visit. This delight turns to shock and bewilderment when Lars brings her to dinner; she is an anatomically correct Real Girl doll from an adult website. Lars gently pushes her into the house in a wheelchair and introduces her as Bianca, a paraplegic missionary from Brazil. The dinner takes on a surreal quality for Gus and Karin who don't know how to react as Lars, seemingly relaxed and open for the first time, breezily chats with them and Bianca, just as if she is an actual person. This movie was a real delight for me when I saw it for the first time. There is a gentle humour and innocence to it, which is as surprising as it is welcome. The film could have gone for cheap laughs, as so many movies regrettably- and boringly- do, but Lars and the Real Girl is never so unoriginal and tawdry. There are some great performances in this movie- especially by Gosling- but not just by the leads. The opinionated townspeople are all characters in their own right, ready to squabble amongst themselves but united in their desire to see Lars overcome the crippling emotional problems that plague him and keep him from forming relationships- whether familial or romantic- however much he wishes to do so.
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The above image is from the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. It's based on the 1912 Jean Webster book by the same name and was the fourth movie adaptation of the novel; the others were released in 1919, 1931, and 1935, the 1935 version being Curly Top, a Shirley Temple vehicle. The movie makes a number of changes to the plot of the book obviously, including significantly increasing the age difference between the two central characters, but the main plot point is the same: an orphaned girl is sponsored by an unknown benefactor to attend college. While there, the girl- Julie (not Judy, as in the book)- is lonely and starts to write letters to her mysterious sponsor though he never responds, which is what's occurring in the scene pictured. I don't particularly like this movie, which is not one of Fred Astaire's better outings... I'm not really fond of any of the dance sequences and there's only one memorable song: Something's Gotta Give. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of the novel either; I actually think that it's sequel Dear Enemy is the superior book. Leslie Caron is charming and obviously an excellent dancer, and Fred Astaire... well, he's Fred Astaire- what else needs to be said? But the movie as a whole doesn't do anything for me. Also, dance dream sequences are terrible in every movie... didn't work in Singin' In The Rain and definitely doesn't work in this film either. Related Posts:
The above image is from the 1990 made for TV movie, The Little Kidnappers which is a remake that I actually like- of a 1953 film. I haven't seen that one so I can't say how it compares, but I really enjoy the 1990 version which stars Charlton Heston as the stubborn patriarch-James MacKenzie- of a Nova Scotian family. The two boys are his grandsons, sent from England to live with MacKenzie and his wife and daughter after the death of their mother. Their father (MacKenzie's only son) was killed in the Boer War. MacKenzie is bitter because he was estranged from his son, and he is left with a hatred of all things Boer/Dutch which is a problem when a Dutch settler starts courting his daughter Kirsten. In the above scene, the boys have asked their Aunt Kirsten to read one of their father's letters to their mother from the front before bed even though they both know them by heart. Related Posts: The above image is from the 2009 short film 2081, which is an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 short story Harrison Bergeron. In it, due to an Amendment to the American Constitution, inequality of any kind has been outlawed. If someone is strong, they must wear "handicaps"- weights to keep them on par with weaker people. If someone is smarter, they must wear a device which blasts sound into their ear at intervals to prevent them from concentrating too much. The picture is of dancers who are wearing masks so that none of them will be prettier than the others. They also have weights strapped on while they dance, so that they are not too skilled in their art, outshining those who are not good dancers. Harrison Bergeron is someone who is enormously strong and is also a genius. Consequently, he is fitted with all of the most extreme handicaps. When he refuses to be broken, he's finally arrested by order of the United States Handicapper General. But then he escapes. Considering the abject stupidity and downright wickedness which occurs now in the name of "equality"- such as denying Asians admittance to universities on their merits because they are considered too academically successful compared to other minorities- Vonnegut seems to have been remarkably prescient in many ways.
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