I hope you also were able to see it as an example of the kind of story that can be told within Canada's state sponsored film system which would never be produced by Hollywood.
I hope you also enjoyed the wonderful performances of Ryan Gosling and Bianca ;)
As always, please answer the following question:
- For you, what is the most prominent theme of this movie? Back up your opinion with three examples from the film.
Then, answer one of the following questions or respond to something someone else has already said:
- Which purpose(s) of the Canadian Film Board do you feel this film fulfills?
- How is this film different than typical Hollywood movies? How is it similar?
The theme to this movie I thought, is to never jugde a book by its cover. Because everyone loved Lars, until they found out that he had a sex doll as a "girlfriend". And they also didn't like Bianca either, until they found use for her, and they eventually fell inlove with her, just like Lars did! I thought that was so hypocritical, and strange, but it just shows you that no matter what happens, everyone can come together, and support each other, no matter what the situation is. And I think that's great (:
ReplyDeleteI thought this film was soooo great, and hilarious. I thought it was sweet how Lars thought she was real, and treated her like she was. That shows true love and respect. And even though everyone didn't approve of Bianca in the begining, they all got to know how important she was to Lars, and started to think twice about how they felt about Bianca, and that's great too, because she was so important to Lars, and they had to accept her, to accept him (:
-Bambie T.
I find it interesting that the theme you identified here is the same theme that Randi put for Hero. I don't what that means. But I find it interesting .... Things are connecting ... somehow ....
DeleteGreat examples to support your theme.
Don't forget to answer one of the two other questions listed above. Please reply to this note with those answers.
Good work.
i thought the theme of this movie was about how people can be different and still be accepted. my three examples of this would be: his brothers wife gave Bianca some clothes to wear even though shes a doll. second was when he took her to the party with him, sure people looked at him funny and made rude jokes and comments but there was someone there to stick up for him or change the subject. third would be when they went to the hospital. they treated her like a real person so Lars would comfortable. I can think of many more reasons why as well.
ReplyDeletethis movie was deffinatly not what i was expecting. it went really deep into Lar's emotions and why he needed the doll to comfort him. i love how well the action was in this movie and i found it really funny. its deffinatly different from Hollywood movies because i think they would have made it allot more sexual and not so deep in emotion. overall i thought it was a goood movie.
-Courtney Valdez
Great response, Courtney. You covered all the requirements. I agree with you that Hollywood would have made this movie all sexual and lewd. I'm grateful it is what it is. The genius of the film is how it constantly walks on the clean side of the line while staying close to the line.
Delete-Tommy Kiter
ReplyDeleteThe theme of this movie in my opinion is, there will be days when you don't feel accepted but, then you realize you are.Dont judge a person by how they look. Let them be accepted for who they are. This movie was really weird, Having a "sexdoll" as his girlfriend and even naming it bianca. Noone liked lars at first But, they thought if they acted like the doll was weird he would stop. However the community started to act like it was really real. Started to gain a strong bond between lars,bianca and the communtiy.
I felt bad for lars when everyone thought he was crazy when really he was trying to cope with his life. I felt better when they started to realize he wasn't going to change and they had to accept who he was. I really liked this movie it was fun and halarious and it also taught me to never judge a book by its cover. I loved how he acted like he felt accepted by someone to me this movie was more acception and emotions etc. I enjoyed this movie and would consider this movie to anyone.
I'm glad you had such a great experience with the film, Tommy! I love reading your blog responses and seeing what you're thinking about these films. Please share these thoughts in class as well.
DeletePlease remember to follow all of the instructions. You still need to answer one more question from the post.
But I love what you have written here!
Tayia Groesbeck-
ReplyDeleteI think the theme of the film is you should always treat people the way you want to be treated, even if they might not be as normal as most people. The first reason is they all thought he had problems and thought he was weird because he was in love with the doll but in the end they ended up loving the doll as much as lars did. They also liked to spend time with the doll and treat her like she was a human just so that lars didn't get upset. And the last reason is even tho it was a doll they had a funeral for her and everyone came so that Lars would be happy that everyone came.
I think this movie is different from Hollywood films because I don't think Hollywood would make a film as clean as that film, when you think of a guy in love with a sex doll you would think it would be inaprprate and hollywood would probsbly mske it a inapropreate movie. I think it is like Hollywood movies because they ussed a famous actor in the movie to make it sell more.
Good insight about how the famous actor helps this movie sell. I'm glad they did get Ryan Gosling so the movie could be more financially successful and we could see and because I feel he did a stellar job acting in the film!
DeleteGood work answering all the questions in the post!
C.J. Barrett: The theme of this film is community. The way everyone were so willing to go along with Lars' delusion, and how they all made Bianca a real, and huge part of their lives. Also, how at the beginning of the film Karen wanted Lars to come over for dinner so badly, I thought that was almost a foreshadow to the theme of community.
ReplyDeleteI think this film is different from Hollywood movies because it isn't full of explosions, guns, or scantily clad women running around while Micheal Bay films it. This movie is a lot more... quiet, than most movies Hollywood produces. The production value seemed a lot better than what a typical Independent film might produce, which is similar to Hollywood.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThanks for sharing the detail about "Don Quixote". When we were watching the film, I wondered to myself what he was reading and guessed that whatever it was, it probably connected to themes of the movie in some way.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for sharing details about how the doll was treated on set. It gave me ideas of how to structure things on the Paradise High set to help the actors be in the zone.
Continuity. Oh, continuity.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for sharing all these little factoids about the movies we watch. I LOVE IT!
Remember to also answer the questions in the post.
ReplyDeleteFunny moment: when I was halfway through your sentence about explosions and scantily clad women, I immediately thought of Michael Bay and then, at the end of your sentence, you mentioned him. Haha!
ReplyDeleteGood point about how the production value of this film felt more Hollywood-ish and Indie-ish. I wonder what the budget of Lars was.
C.J., you seem to know your directors well. That is a skill that will serve you well as a serious film-person. Keep it up.
Ashton Bowers: The theme in this movie was be accepting and helpful to those who need it, when Lars first showed Bianca people thought he was crazy but they ended up seeing the better side of him and helped him take care of her, and they took in Bianca as an actual person of the community and she helped it out a lot.
ReplyDeleteHow this was different from a hollywood movie was it wasnt meant to be fully entertaining or make a lot of money, it had its funny moments but it was more about accepting people for who they are and not making them feel like they're crazy, and to try and make a comunity a better place.
Great insights, Ashton. I agree with your assessment of the theme. This is a solid response of the exact length required.
Delete-Randi Ralston :3
ReplyDeleteI really hope I'm not to late to post this...>.< I didn't have a computer at home and my new laptop I got for Christmas JUST came in the mail. So I hope I can still get credit for this :(
Okay so, I think the theme of this movie is treat others the way you'd want to be treated, even if they're in love with a sex doll. They're still a person like you and me. Everyone thought Lars was a great person until they found out about his relationship with Bianca. Then BAM, all of a sudden he's creepy and no one likes him anymore. That to me is like hating someone just because of the music they listen to, or hating someone because they have a different religion than you do, different sexual orientation, etc etc etc. It's stupid. Just because he has different feelings towards different things than a lot of people do, doesn't mean he should be frowned upon. You don't truly know how that person feels until you walk in their shoes. Which is what everyone eventually tried to do, then realized that Bianca wasn't just some sex doll. She was a REAL GIRL in Lars's eyes. And they needed to accept that.
I think this movie is different from Hollywood films because I've never even imagined a movie being as clean as this one that's about a man and his sex doll. And I don't think Hollywood has either, besides maybe Quagmire from Family Guy or something. And that's not clean compared to this movie. Was Family Guy even done in Hollywood...? I don't even know, but you get my drift. You kind of forget about how Bianca is a sex doll in the movie, and that she's a really important part of Lars's life. It's kinda sweet, but odd at the same time.
I agree that this movie would be way dirty if Hollywood made it. I'm glad Hollywood didn't make it and instead it is the beautiful film that it is.
DeleteLars. Lars and The Real Girl. This movie... Ah. I figure I'll begin by answering the prompts. To me, this film symbolizes Community. Collectivity. Our social need for other human beings... And also (whyihateryangosling) This film is about a grown man who deludes himself into thinking a sex doll he bought is a real woman, and the hardships of his family and of his community as they make the hard choice to play along, because they feel he deserves that. In the end, not only does the main character experience catharsis, but so does everyone else! Lars uses the doll to grow out of his social ineptitude, so that he could overcome his demons and become a functioning human being once more. The community, having survived the hardship, become much closer. They learn a thing or two about themselves in the process. And that's powerful.
ReplyDeleteNow, which of the categories does this film fall under? I do believe its both educational and socially relevant. I learned quite a few tidbits of information about mental disorders and whatnot. Also, this film is about community, which is something people have less of nowadays. Socially, it's trying to relay tolerance and understanding of things outside of your own problems. A powerful message.
... But unfortunately, the amazing message, the original story, the fantastic supporting actors, and the heartwarming theme are not enough to counterbalance the amount of awkwardness that Ryan "IncrediblyAwkward" Gosling excretes.
Hollywood did make a version of Lars and The Real Girl... It's called "Drive". They just replace Bianca with guns, and make Lars a giant A-hole. If Hollywood had made it, it would have been oversexed, overtestosteroned, with too much "Show!" And not enough "show", if you catch my drift... If you love feeling awkward... Just stare at Ryan Goslings face for a few minutes. That'll do the trick.
Lars and The Real Girl = Great Movie
Ryan Gosling = The epitome of all evil
Shamelessly,
Justus A. Page
Thanks for making me laugh, Justus. Way to write a very elaborate, detailed, and well articulated response that effectively acknowledges the strengths of the film while also communicating the ways in which you struggled with it. You employed a strong personal voice which made this response quite enjoyable to read. Just add some more commentary on filmic elements and this response could be a great film essay.
DeleteWho is Anakin Skywalker? Who wrote this post?
ReplyDeleteThis movie was just put back on Netflix, and my first thought after watching it is... Wow. It managed to tell an incredibly great story in an extremely nontraditional way. It was not at all what I thought it would be, even after being told much of the plot. I even was getting pretty teary eyed at parts.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the main theme to the movie is that of human connection. What is it? Why is it so vital? Without it, we evaporate into our own minds and start to become devoid of all social interactions. Lars starts out as a guy who blocks himself from everyone.He needs Bianca as a sort of stepping stone into the real world... It's kind of like Pinocchio. He needed the "real girl" to turn him into a real part of human society.
If Hollywood had gotten this script, it would have been an entirely different movie. Seth Rogen would be the lead male, and Bianca would be way more fake looking and over the top. It would be a terrible movie.
As far as Ryan Gosling is concerned... Well, he's as awesome as ever. Seeing him in a role like this makes me appreciate him as an actor even more. He did not have his usual suaveness going on as he does in a lot of other movies, but rather a nice, quiet, lonely depressing thing.-- Not his usual... but nice. -- Definitely a talented guy.
Glad you were able to watch and enjoy it so much!
DeleteI feel as though the theme of Lars and The Real Girl is self discovery. A lot of people would say community but I believe that due to the fact that the character Lars bought the doll, lived with the doll, and killed the doll shows him trying to discover who he really is as a person.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite movies. I feel like it is important to the film world because it took such a touchy subject and turned it into something so innocent. The story of a man buying a sex doll to have as a girlfriend. Genius!
I think Lars and The Real Girl is different from Hollywood because it isn't sexualized. It doesn't have the humor Hollywood does. I can't think of anything similar. Maybe because of Ryan Gosling.
Agreed.
DeleteI thought the theme of Lars and The Real Girl is Love. More specifically for the comunity. They all joined together to belive that Bianca was alive. I think it was quite cool. How she affected everyone even though well she was a Sex doll. ha No one would epxpect a sex doll would make such an imapct on peoples lives. I think an even better Theme for the movie is Don't judge a book by its cover.
ReplyDeleteI personally really liked this movie. It really affected me at how lonely he is, But through the help of the comunity and his inner self. He wasn't so lonely anymore. I really liked Ryan Gosling in this movie..
Ooo ... two themes. You're too cool for school.
ReplyDelete