What's happened to me? I'm used to finding the weak spots in films like Lars and the Real Girl and harping on them repeatedly. So why can't I this time? Am I getting soft in my old age?
OK the portrayal of mental illness in L&tRG is simplistic... and easy... like Robin Williams hugs Matt Damon and everything's ok easy. And the way the town rallys around Lars and his problem is more like the way we think a small town should be than how they actually are. So why am I so willing to give it a pass?
It's easy, and obvious, but it doesn't take shortcuts. It doesn't wink at you, or make fun of Lars, or any of a dozen other missteps it could have taken. I wasn't taken out of the film at any point by a scene that didn't make sense, or a performance that seemed over the top [two common mistakes in most romantic comedies]. And the whole thing is damned cute, funny, and above all enjoyable.
I obviously watch a lot of movies and I am at a point where I know what kinds of films I like. A good percentage of the films I like are beautiful and profound, but not enjoyable. And I'm fine with that. But I also get afraid. Afraid that I've grown so hard to please that I've lost the ability to watch a movie like I did when I was 15. To be entertained on a simple level. A film like L&tRG hits that part of me dead on, and it's a feeling that I miss.
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