The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page B3

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM Metro State 2nd THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007 B3 THE GO TO INDYSTAR.COMENTERTAINMENT For the latest movie and music reviews To get local TV listings To sign up for an entertainment newsletter For the latest news Odd couple in 'Lars' create movie magic SUSAN GUYETT'S TALK OF OUR TOWN Long-awaited canal eatery almost ready Heartland Film Festival When: Today through Oct. 26. Where: Special events will be at various venues. Films will be shown at AMC Clearwater Crossing 12, 4016 E. 82nd AMC Greenwood Park 14, 461 S.

Greenwood Park Drive; and UA Circle Centre 9, 49 W. Maryland St. Cost: Single-film admission is $7, $6 in advance at area Marsh Supermarkets. $50 for 10-pack of tickets. Prices for special events vary.

Info: (866) 433-1010 or www. heartlandfilmfestival.org. cool down after work and groups can set aside a private room to celebrate. Check out the attention to detail in the renovations to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1918. There are light fixtures from the Indianapolis Athletic Club, historic church furnishings, a wall that will be dedicated to Indiana artists' works and tables fashioned from an old gymnasium floor.

The view is one of the best in the city, and the giant window behind the bar offers a clear shot of Downtown. Parking shouldn't be a problem once Mack steps up enforcement in the restaurant's lot across the street. All-day parkers who found the lot before the restaurant opened have been warned, but tickets and towing are in their futures if they don't make room for diners. There's also some street parking along 11th Street and another surface lot east of the restaurant. Our long wait for Buggs Temple is finally over.

Well, it will be over Friday when the tri-level restaurant on the Downtown Canal at 337 W. 11th St. opens to the public at 11 a.m. Some finishing touches are being applied, but this week the restaurant crew has been busy serving practice meals to guests invited in for a sneak peek. As with any new restaurant, there are kinks to work out, servers to train, line cooks to whip into shape and notes to take on what details need attention.

Give the place a break if you decide to visit right after the opening. There's plenty good to say about the restaurant already. Former Puck's chef Brad Gates offered a lunch menu Wednesday that included a delightful Brussels sprouts bisque and smoked trout dip for those in that state of mind. Folks who preferred traditional fare could order mainstays such as Caesar salad or a burger. ONLINE EXTRA NDYSTAR.COM SUSAN GUYETT The Star DEDICATION: Chuck Mack has been working on the Buggs Temple project since 2003.

He will cater to a variety of customers. Operating partner Chuck Mack, who has been working on the project since 2003, said people should be comfortable stopping by for a drink or a full meal. Buggs Temple is set up so someone jogging along the canal can drop in, business execs can By Christopher Lloyd christopher.lloyd(3indystar.com The unlikeliest of tearjerk-ers, "Lars and the Real Girl" is a movie that rarely fails to surprise. What else is there to say about a film where a guy falls in love with a life-size sex doll? I know what you're thinking, and you can stop right there. This is not a gross-out comedy a la the Farrelly brothers Something About replete with bawdy romps and bodily fluids.

Rather, it's a tender drama about a gentle, painfully shy man who uses a plastic surrogate as a way to reconnect with his community. To be sure, there are some laughs, too. How could there not be, with Lars wheeling the doll around his tiny Northern town in a wheelchair, calling her Bianca, and even carrying on conversations with her? And his psychologist advises the townsfolk to play along? Director Craig Gillespie and writer Nancy Oliver Feet must walk the thinnest of tightropes, for if the tone of the film strays ever slightly into ironic territory, the whole delicate construction falls. Not only do they avoid that trap, they create several scenes of pure cinematic magic. Ryan Gosling, nominated for an Oscar last year for his portrayal of a drug-addicted teacher in "Half Nelson," further bolsters his reputation as the finest actor of his generation.

Lars' isolation is a palpable presence as Gosling hides behind shy smiles, averted eyes and stammering speech. He's like a man standing at the edge of a chasm where the bridge has collapsed. He knows he wants to cross, but he doesn't have any rope, or even know what rope is. Lars lives in the garage of his brother and his wife (Paul Aits pioneer's spirit inspires fundraiser BIRTHDAYS OF NOTE Karen Whitney (right), IUPUI vice chancellor for student life, turns 48 and Andrew Paine retired CEO For a complete schedule, go to www.lndyStar.commovies. Schneider and Emily Mortimer), who are expecting their first child.

Soon after a big box arrives, he introduces them to Bianca who sort of resembles Angelina Jolie whom he claims he met on the Internet. Shocked, they take him to the local head-shrinker (Patricia Clarkson), a patient sort who reasons that Lars is using this plastic girlfriend as a way to reach out. Soon the very odd couple are stepping out to parties, the mall, etc. It takes a pretty gigantic suspension of disbelief to swallow the illogic that a psychologist would tacitly approve such a delusion, and that a whole small city would go along with it. Especially enchanted are the scenes Gosling shares with Kel-li Garner, in a luminescent performance, as an awkward coworker with a crush on Lars.

Who knew that bowling and teddy bear CPR could be so moving? Call Star reporter Christopher Lloyd at (317) 444-6326. The late Bob Beckmann Jr. still has a boatload of friends and admirers who gather each year around the time of his birthday to raise funds to support the theater named in his honor. Cabaret Fest 2007, at American Cabaret Theatre on Monday, would have delighted the man who did so much for Downtown and the arts. Beckmann was championing Mass Ave.

and local arts programming long before council and commissions were doing it. No one who knew him has forgotten his persuasive style and charm. Beckmann died at 59 in year's event raised about $6,000. Beckmann was a press secretary to the Indianapolis mayor when current U.S. Sen.

Richard Lugar held that job. Beckmann also headed the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee and was a founder of the Arts Council of Indianapolis. "I dream of a city where the arts are central, not peripheral; essential, not optional a city where the arts are not merely icing on the cake, but truly the critical leavening in the cake itself," Beckmann once said. Go to www.beckmann theatre.org to learn more. of NBD, turns 70 today.

Shawn Mulholland of BSA LifeStructures will turn 43 and Marion Superior Court Judge Cynthia Avers will turn 60 Friday. John Krauss, director of the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at IUPUI, will turn 59; Jimmy James, who owns 21st Amendment Wine Spirits, will turn 72; and philanthropist Christel DeHaan will turn 65 Saturday. SUSAN GUYETT The Star SHOW GOES ON: Ellen Kingston and Tom Alvarez helped planned Cabaret Fest 2007. 2001, and each year a group of well-known local cabaret players gather to put on a special program. Director Tom Alvarez estimates this Visit lndyMoms.com to share stories, opinions SW' advice with thousands of other local moms.

Hoosier boy wins tickets to see Totter' author By Abe Aamidor abe.aamidor(3i ndystar.com Nine-year-old Agustin Garcia is headed to New York City for the first time AelfJI Do YOU NEED Legal Help? Friday. His mission: to shake hands with J.K. Rowling, author of the international best-selling "Harry Potter" books. Rowling will do a "meet and Tuesday, October 23 3 p.m. 7 p.m.

NO PAYMENTS, PAY NO INTEREST FOR 6 MONTHS Agustin Garcia Members of the Indianapolis Bar Association will be available for one-on-one consultations at the following library branch locations: OFFER EXPIRES 113007 College Avenue East Washington Haughville Pike Southport Brightwood Eagle Glendale Lawrence Shelby greet," one in a nationwide series, with about 1,000 fans Friday in Carnegie Hall. Agustin, West Lafayette, won two tickets to the J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour by entering a Scholastic sweepstakes. His father, Eduardo, says his son began re-reading all the books as soon as he was notified that he'd won. Call Star reporter Abe Aamidor at (317) 444-6472.

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