Lars, the Real Girl and her wheelchair

I finally saw Lars and the Real Girl tonight. It's not easy to explain the movie without giving away its plot, although you can certainly tell people that it's a very good movie about a delusional guy named Lars who is so lovable that an entire town goes along with his delusion.

But that's nothing compared to actually watching the movie and seeing it happen. There's something different about Lars' friends telling him to be careful of the Real Girl's feelings, when she's an inflatable doll, than hearing a general description of the plot.

And did I mention she's sitting in a wheelchair? Yes, well, I have to mention that because if I didn't someone would hold a mirror under my mouth to see if I was alive and breathing.

My first reaction to seeing an inflatable doll being pushed around in a wheelchair was not positive. In fact, one could say it turned me off to some of the charm this movie might otherwise have held for me. Just some. I was able to chuckle at the image of the inflatable doll seated in a wheelchair in the doctor's waiting room, but was not at all amused by the long distance shots of her being pushed around in a wheelchair.

It was too reminiscent to me of this: people seeing the wheelchair and not the person in it - as in, it might as well be an inflatable doll. Of course, I've never really thought about how an inflatable doll with an active life like the Real Girl would get to all those volunteer groups and social events, so I'm not prepared with an alternative. Obviously, she can't walk by herself. A cane wouldn't work. Neither would a walker. A Segway would have been fun to watch. Or Lars could have duct taped her to his side and developed a nice swagger .

On the other hand, I liked the message the film sent out about how a community can embrace a delusional guy who is dating an inflatable doll. After all, there's something to be said for scenes where folks tell Lars how to treat his girlfriend right and not be so selfish. I'm wondering if there's potential for handing out inflatable dolls during the American rites of learning how to date to teach relationship skills. If so, we might all have to learn to say lines like: "How does she take her coffee?" or "What would she like to order?"

Oh wait. I hear that when I go out on dates with able bodied guys all the time.