I was dubious and this will definitely not appeal to all tastes, but I was completely enchanted and moved by this Capra-esque fantasy firmly rooted on the planet earth by smart, unadourned, emotionally resonant acting choices. Lars (an understated Ryan Gosling in a charming and warmly human-sized performance) suffered extreme trauma as an infant and the result, twenty-seven years later, is that he severely lacks interpersonal relationship skills. When he purchases a life-sized, sex doll for companionship, literally convincing himself she is real, his brother wants him packed off to a mental institution. His sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer) takes a different tact and soon the entire town rallies around Lars’ relationship with “Bianca.” None of this should work. None of it! The potential for treacly, saccharin-laced whimsy is undermined by a no-nonsense approach and a cast of characters straight out of an E. Annie Proulx novel (the original screenplay by “Six Feet Under” scribe Nancy Oliver was nominated for an Academy Award). The first act is a bit forced (give it a little time) and the ending, befitting the genre, is telegraphed from the next state, but the plot twists keep you engaged and even surprised.
Is anyone slashed, or at least menaced by slashers?
Not a ravenous eastern European teenager in sight.
does jefferson starship sing the theme song?
I’m missing the reference, though I did see Jefferson Starship perform at Rupp Arena in the early eighties. Grace Slick in full-on Joan Jett mode. I was sitting in the fourth or fifth row. Was it the “Modern Times” or “Winds of Change” tour? I cannot rightly remember.
Ahh . . . mannequins! Obscure but telling. Lars’ “Bianca” has a rubber vagina though she does remain a virgin in this particular retelling of the classic man loves an inanimate object narrative (now there’s a thread ripe for this group).
Eh! Fine eyes-a, fine eyes-a!
Whooosh . . .