Tuesday, March 31, 2009

a must see

let me preface what i am about to write by stating that i never cry in movies. (it usually takes "shirley maclaine in terms of endearment type of acting" to get me to shed tears unless of course, i'm pregnant- but i digress.) this past weekend, pat and i thoroughly enjoyed lars and the real girl. i had wanted to see this movie when it came out, but abstained because i was worried of the nature of the jokes based on the premise; it's about a shut-in man who orders a "special" doll over the internet. i decided to put the movie on my netflix queue after i read a great review from a blog i love to read. first off, this movie is totally clean!!! except for the real nature of the doll, it is a PG movie. (the real nature is hardly referenced and certainly not how the doll is treated in the movie.) but that is not why i loved this movie. it is ultimately a movie about the goodness of people. you get the feeling that lars lives in a frozen tundra, but yet you want to move to this place immediately because of the sense of community and goodness in the people's hearts. it is all done so beautifully - the movie truly is surreal at times. after first laughing hysterically when he introduces his "friend" to his brother and sister-in-law, i found myself with silent tears running down my face through the remainder of the movie. you can find mr. ebert's review here. let me know if you've seen it or watch it and what you think!!!

beginning of mr. ebert's review: How do you make a film about a life-sized love doll, ordered through the Internet, into a life-affirming statement of hope? In "Lars and the Real Girl," you do it with faith in human nature, and with a performance by Ryan Gosling that says things that cannot be said. And you surround him with actors who express the instinctive kindness we show to those we love.

post edit: and to state the obvious in case you don't know me, i'm not pregnant; those tears were genuine.

13 comments:

Scrappycook said...

Both Bryana and I loved this movie!

sorichfamily said...

i've been wanting to see this...i'm glad it got good reviews from the hinckley house! now to convince david...

miriam Case said...

I can't believe that I stumbled onto your blog from Stacy Erickson's blog. My son is married to Bryan Erickson's youngest sister, Rachael. I live in Campton, NH, and am friends with Cindy Clarke, who owns the Clarke house in Campton. We attend the same branch of the church. What a small world.
Miriam Case
myburmese@hotmail.com

Jacki said...

April! One of my friends has been telling me for a year now to see this movie, but I haven't gotten around to it. Now that I have two witnesses, I guess I should get my act together...thanks for the review!-jacki

natalie said...

I thought I was the only person who loved this movie. Yippie!

Jeanie Hinckley Rennie said...

I also really loved this movie, thought it was one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen. Though throughout it I wanted someone to address the fact that the doll looked just like Angelina Jolie. Did you notice the resemblance?

april said...

@jeanie - i didn't notice the resemblance while i was watching, but now that you said that, that's all i see. so did you watch it before or after this whole octo-mom story?

Jeanie Hinckley Rennie said...

I saw it long before octo-mom, maybe even before octo-mom transformed into looking like Angelina Jolie. But I suppose that Lars' doll could be either of them. There is something so off about octo-mom, it's really quite creepy. Sorry I pointed out the resemblance to you!

Peggy said...

Thank you for stopping by the blog. I'm so glad to hear from you. Yes, time goes by fast. Esra turns three next week!

I am so touched by your fantastic idea with signing. I love it...I wonder if Esra would be even more interested in signing if she saw her peers doing it?

So, should we suggest to our hubby's that we would get more blessings if they made a burnt offering of their Blackberrys?

We are in Connecticut for one more year, than off to another duty station near the coast, year-round warmth and outdoor swimming pools! I'm from Alaska, and I went to the Y on the five year plan, so I'm done with living in snow. And after this winter in New England, I'm pining for lots of sunshine...

jennah said...

Say what what WHAT!!! No, I'm not amazed concerning this movie which I will see and do trust to be good. I'm in disbelief over the amount of blogging one woman can do at a time!! You never cease to amaze, April.

susan m hinckley said...

If it makes you feel better, BOTH Russ and I cried like babies. We love this movie!

april said...

yeah, pat was crying too - which is no surprise to fellow hinckleys - and any ward members who have seen him get emotional in talks/testimonies.

Jim and Amy said...

April - Amy and I took your advice and we LOVED this movie! I think the people in the town were a bit more accepting than they really would be, but it was still awesome.

It was just nice to watch something so heartwarming and intriguing - thanks!

quotables

"is that lily holding baby lily?" -lily's response when i showed her a picture of gracie holding her when lily was a baby.

"drama class is actually a lot of fun." -gracie (this is only humorous in that grace seemed surprised by how much she likes drama class. this from my child who we refer to as "a drama queen" when she is not around.)

"mom, you can go with my teacher and i'll stay home with japie and evan. daddy can go to work, and i'll be the mommy" -lily, in response to learning that she would be going to preschool next year instead of this year.

"mom, if you don't get rid of that smell soon, you're going to have to buy a new car." -gracie when it took me a couple of days to clean out my car after returning from a road trip.

"mommy, they have dress-ups for you!" -lily while walking by the prom dress section at macy's.

"i said the prayer "last"-erday." -lily's replacement word for "yesterday."