Joe Bostick Movies
Lars (Ryan Gosling) and Gus (Paul Schneider) are the grown children of a father who died recently and a mother who died giving birth to Lars. But as brothers, they couldn't be more different. While Gus lives in the family home and has a loving wife (Emily Mortimer) and a child on the way, Lars leads a more reclusive existence in the family's garage, hiding in plain sight of his small, wintry hometown. Painfully shy and eccentric, Lars fails to recognize that his co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner) has a major crush on him, and he picks up on a casual reference made by his cubicle mate, who mentions a website where you can order life-sized, anatomically correct sex dolls. But instead of seeing a sex object, Lars sees in this doll a potential life partner and the only kind of social "peer" he can relate to. So Lars orders a doll, whom he names Bianca, and begins treating her with utmost gentlemanly respect -- and as though she's his real-life, flesh-and-blood girlfriend. As he begins bringing Bianca with him everywhere he goes, the townspeople have to find just the right balance between supporting Lars' unusual romance and trying to introduce him to a more conventional partner. Lars and the Real Girl was written by Six Feet Under scribe Nancy Oliver and directed by Mr. Woodcock's Craig Gillespie. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, (more)
Everyone who grew up watching the original Saturday Night Live remembers the fateful night in 1976 when Lorne Michaels, with mock gravity, announced that NBC would pay the munificent sum of 3,000 dollars if the Beatles would agree to come on the show and perform three Beatles songs. But everyone may not know that ex-Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney happened to be in New York, watching that particular episode of SNL -- and for a few moments, they were tempted to play along with the gag and accept the offer. How did this come about? Well, it seems that McCartney, riding high with his hit single "Silly Love Songs," was in Manhattan to promote an upcoming concert. For old time's sake, and (probably) to heal a few long-standing wounds, McCartney called upon Lennon at the latter's apartment in the Dakota. First telecast February 1, 2000, Two of Us dramatizes this bittersweet reunion, of which "L'Affair SNL" was but one of many extra added ingredients. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who'd also helmed the Beatles' swan song movie, Let It Be, Two of Us was seen over the VH1 cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
