So this week I finally got to watching a movie that’s been sitting in my Netflix queue for a while; Lars and the real girl. I’m not quite sure when it was made, but it’s certainly not a recent release. I kind of knew the basic premise of the film before it started; weird guy hooks up with even weirder gal, and all everyone in the town can do is watch the comedic tale unfold. I was expecting some laughs and a lot of tongue in cheek moments, and sure enough the plot delivered. One of my favourite scenes is when Lars introduces “Bianca” to his brother and sister in law for the first time; their reaction and the expression on their faces is priceless 
(especially when you temper it with the excitement they expressed just a few moments earlier when they thought Lars actually had a “real” girlfriend). I find a lot of recent “comedies” resorting to poking fun at certain groups of people, or lame (sometimes downright disgusting) physical humor. I guess this movie was written during a time when Hollywood still remembered what is was to be truly funny, without being boorish, blatant, crude, or slapstick. I appreciated that.
However, somewhere along the line, this movie goes from being a comedic tale to a dramatic lesson in the value of community. The way the whole town embraces Bianca, the way they love Lars, through the ups and downs of his “delusion”, we witness something I think that we miss in today’s society. How far would YOU go to make someone feel accpeted? Lines? Boundaries? Comfort zones? How do your relationships define the word “Real”?
Enjoy