BEFORE: It might seem like I'm taking a left turn here, but I simply cannot watch another animated feature - I'm putting kids' films on hold for the next month, but I will get back there. It's time to concentrate on romance and relationships - I figure I'll get the oddball one out of the way first.
Linking from "Tangled", Ron Perlman was also in "Drive" with Ryan Gosling (last seen in "Remember the Titans"), who headlines here.
The TCM roadtrip travels to the U.K. for Day 4 - but I've seen "The Time Machine", "My Fair Lady" and "Scrooge" before, and I'm going to pass on "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Gaslight" and "Mrs. Miniver". Classics all - but there are 2 movies I want to record on Sunday, so that's my limit for the weekend. I am so going to steal their idea for organizing films, though - I've got a bunch that are set in the U.K., and another block that's California-themed ("Down and Out in Beverly Hills", "Laurel Canyon", etc.)
THE PLOT: A delusional young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.
AFTER: While we're on the topic of my childhood, I remember what it was like before I could talk to girls. I made some clumsy moves to get their attention in junior high, but it wasn't until I got to college that I came even close to dating. And then it took three years to go on a date where the other person also acknowledged that it was a date - the other girls just thought we were "hanging out", so the process was a mystery to me for a long time.
Socially awkward people come in all shapes and sizes, though - when I'm not working with animation geeks or attending a comic-con, I relax by playing on a trivia team. Those circles represent three different flavors of nerds - and in a couple of those circles, I might even be inexplicably thought of as "the cool one". They say if you're fat, you should hang out with fatter people to seem thin - so I guess I've sought out friends even nerdier than myself.
My boss recently handed out an award at a videogame event, and he told me the crowd was the nerdiest he'd seen - and like me, he's been to Comic-con, so that's saying something. My co-worker noted that on the same night, she was home playing videogames - so who's more nerdy? At least the geeks at the event were out being social, in their own way.
Lars is clearly a character unused to relating to other people - so he buys one of those realistic sex dolls (like a mannequin, only with something extra) but doesn't appear to use her for her intended purpose. Instead he talks to her, gives her a backstory, takes her on dates and brings her to parties. Instead of being creeped out, the whole town humors his delusion and treats the doll like a real person - because, hey, at least Lars is being social.
Lars has more issues than a newstand, but is he any crazier than someone who talks to their dog, or their plants? Really, it's only when the plants talk back that you need to worry... What about people who are delusional about their potential, or unaware of the effect their actions have on others? Or someone who, say, runs for political office and doesn't think that scandal in his past will come to light? What was that guy thinking?
After the set-up, there are some twists and turns I won't reveal here - but while this film is not flat-out entertaining, I bet it did well at festivals, because it's one of those darkish films that really makes you think, and I admire that. Whether Lars is just practicing being with a fake girlfriend, or really believes the doll is real is sort of up to you - the film works either way, which is impressive.
Also starring Emily Mortimer (last seen in "The Ghost and the Darkness"), Paul Schneider (last seen in "Away We Go"), Kelli Garner (last seen in "The Aviator") and Patricia Clarkson (last seen in "Jumanji")
RATING: 6 out of 10 action figures
Here's what skeeves me out the most about those "Real Dolls": They look as much like a real woman as possible, and when they're..."in use"...they are motionless and at room temperature.
ReplyDeleteThe men who buy these want to have intercourse with a woman who is motionless and whose body is at room temperature.
What I'm saying is that if this sort of thing turns you on, then you're clearly a necrophiliac.