Family Filmgoer
Watching With Kids in Mind

By Jane Horwitz
Friday, October 19, 2007

Lars and the Real Girl (PG-13, 106 minutes)

High schoolers -- or adults, for that matter -- who can't check their cynicism at the door won't get much out of "Lars and the Real Girl" beyond lewd giggles.

Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) lives in a garage apartment next to the family home he co-owns with his older brother, Gus (Paul Schneider), and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer). For reasons that become clear later, Lars can't relate to people or bear to be touched. A guy at work clues him in to a Web site for sex dolls, and he has one delivered, names her Bianca and introduces her to all as his visiting (platonic) girlfriend. The family doctor (Patricia Clarkson) advises Gus and Karin to go along with Lars's delusion, and gradually Lars comes out of his shell.

The script (by Nancy Oliver), the direction (by Craig Gillespie) and the uniformly fine cast never let the material sugar over. A genuinely touching saga emerges about a wintry Midwestern town whose residents unite to help someone. For thoughtful high schoolers, "Lars and the Real Girl" offers artistic, emotional and even spiritual nourishment -- an antidote to the brittle sarcasm of modern life. In addition to sexual innuendo (pointed questions about the doll's flexibility), the film includes mild profanity and themes about loss and depression.

ALSO PLAYING
8 and Older

"The Final Season" (PG). Even young baseball fans will doze through this amateurish, long, sloppily plotted fact-based saga. Sean Astin stars colorlessly as an inexperienced coach who leads a legendary high school baseball team from tiny Norway, Iowa, in its final season, circa 1991, after their longtime coach (Powers Boothe) gets fired for opposing the city fathers' decision to merge Norway High with a bigger school, which will decimate the team. Smoking, marijuana references, rare mild profanity.

"The Seeker" (P G). Well-acted adaptation of Susan Cooper's 1973 novel about Will (Alexander Ludwig), a 14-year-old American living in England who discovers he is fated to be a time-traveling Seeker in an ancient war between light and darkness, the latter forces led by the evil Rider (Christopher Eccleston); the film plays like a less inventive "Harry Potter" flick but isn't bad. Some scary moments approach PG-13 intensity.

"The Game Plan" (PG). Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who's okay in action flicks, grimaces and lumbers through this harmless but clumsy family comedy as he tries to show emotional growth in his character. Kids may be entertained, but adults will note the movie's utter artificiality. Johnson plays a star Boston quarterback whose selfish life goes haywire after the 8-year-old daughter (Madison Pettis) he never knew he had shows up. Scenes that gently imply footballers partying.

PG-13

"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" A solid cast and better writing lend weight to this adult-oriented melodrama, based on a play by writer-director-actor Perry. It is just as preachy but less free and funny than his previous films (all PG-13s and based on his plays). Four African American couples on a therapeutic retreat led by psychologist Patricia (Janet Jackson) and her husband, Gavin (Malik Yoba), unpack emotional baggage that wrecks the gathering. Mean, unfaithful Mike (Richard T. Jones) is cruel to overweight mate Sheila (singer Jill Scott); Terry (Perry) wonders why his lawyer wife, Diane (Sharon Leal), avoids him; tipsy entrepreneur Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White) argue nonstop. Sexual innuendo, mild profanity, drinking and the loss of a child make this not for middle schoolers; it may bore older teens.

"Elizabeth: The Golden Age." Myth, legend, history and fashion vie for screen time in this gorgeous, less explicitly violent or sexual sequel to "Elizabeth" (R, 1998). Director Shekhar Kapur offers another romanticized take on Elizabeth I (stunning Cate Blanchett) in mid-reign. The defeat of the Spanish Armada is dull, but quieter scenes crackle. Catholic plotters bedevil Protestant Elizabeth while Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) enchants her, then beds her lady-in-waiting (Abbie Cornish). There are scenes of torture, nongraphic bedroom scenes, back-view nudity, harsh words and rare profanity. For literary and history-loving high schoolers.

"Feel the Noise." This cliched tale about an inner-city teen trying to get into the music biz stays afloat on energy and atmosphere; it takes place mostly in Puerto Rico and showcases reggaeton, a catchy fusion of rap, reggae, salsa and bomba. Recording artist Omarion Grandberry plays Rob, a New York guy eager to make it as a rapper, though he sometimes resorts to stealing. After thugs shoot at him, his mom sends him to his estranged dad (Giancarlo Esposito) in Puerto Rico. Violence against women, drugs, drinking, cigarettes, racial slur and rare profanity. Not for middle schoolers.

R

"Rendition." The issue of how America treats suspected terrorists gets a tense, intelligent airing in this slow-building thriller, which has a clear anti-torture agenda. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a CIA analyst who observes while police in a North African country "interrogate" an Egyptian-born chemical engineer (Omar Metwally) from Chicago, arrested and sent under "extraordinary rendition" to Africa for questioning about cellphone records. His wife (Reese Witherspoon) seeks help, but the CIA's anti-terrorism chief (Meryl Streep) won't budge. Torture scenes, strong profanity, steamy kisses, liquor, cigarettes. For thoughtful high schoolers.