‘Lars & The Real Girl’ Has Come To Life & It’s Much, Much Sadder Than We Thought

Have you seen Lars & the Real Girl? I thought it sucked, but a lot of people love it. I don't care how creepy of a mustache you slap on Ryan Gosling, he's still Ryan Gosling, and the film just doesn't work as a result—well, it doesn't work for a lot of reasons. A real dude that would fall in love with a sex doll looks more like, well, that fella on the right up there. 

Vocativ (link below) profiled a group of men who have given up on relationships with living, breathing women for one reason or another, and have found true love with sex dolls. Take Carl, the guy on the right in that photo up there, for example. 20 years ago, Carl and his wife split up, and though he tried to find true love again, it just didn't happen for him. So in 1998, Carl purchased his first sex doll, and so began a new obsession. 

His newest investment is the silicone doll Alektra, above. She's a copy of the American porn star Alektra Blue. Carl does not have a sexual relationship with Alektra—rather, he likes to take photos of her. Carl, who's 56, shares a big house with his parents, Geoffrey and Doreen. Carl doesn’t see Alektra as his girlfriend. He is very conscious that she can never replace a real woman. He's still hoping that he will meet the living love of his life.

Depressing, sure, but not really all that sad. Brace yourself for the sad...

This mustachioed gent is Chris Zachos, and he's got a hell of a story for you...

In 1986, after having their first child, Chris Zachos' wife filed for divorce. He was refused contact with his daughter for years. Every now and then, he would search for his daughter's name on social media to get in touch. A few years ago, he found her, married and a mother of two. It has been very painful for Chris not to have been a part of his daughter's life, so it was a big deal when they reunited. He doesn't understand why his ex-wife and he didn't have a better dialogue. The divorce has affected his relations with women, and he still hasn't had a new girlfriend. On the bed lies Lala Salama, left. Her name means "sweet dreams" in Swahili. Chris uses Lala Salama only for cuddling at night. Sharon, right, is named after the character played by the Canadian actress Grace Park on the SyFy Channel's rendition of Battlestar Galactica.

Stories like this are legitimately sad in the formal sense of the word. There's at least one guy profiled in the piece, "Shadowman" from Wales, whose story could be considered sad in the informal sense of the word, but the bulk of these stories hedge more towards the former.

These fellas remind me of Mark Hogancamp who was profiled in the terrific documentary Marwencol, more than they do Lars. There is a grasping for something deeper than romantic fulfillment, and whatever it is, I hope they find it. 

Via Vocativ