Paper Heart (2009)

Very disappointing...

Pretty Good

Great Film overall

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Nick Jasenovec (Jake Johnson) is directing a documentary about performer Charlyne Yi's search for the meaning of love. She asks people on the street, regular folks, her famous (and not) friends like Seth Rogen, Demetri Martin and even scientists or other 'experts' of love. Then she runs into Michael Cera at a party. As she travels across the country, she connects with Michael and they start dating.The documentary parts are random at times. There is some fun, some profound, and some pedestrian. There are some childlike stop-motion animation segments. Charlyne Yi is adorably awkward. She's great alone or with Jake Johnson. Her chemistry with Michael Cera is a bit sparse. Of course, it's a fictional storyline and is itself awkward. This is definitely different. I did find the DVD extras to be hilarious. I'll keep that part out of the rating. Otherwise I would give this an 8.

The most disturbing part of this film was that it was hard not to feel that Michael Cera was acting his romantic part in this pseudo- documentary and that Charlyn was truly falling for it. On the surface it appears as though Charlyn wants to make a documentary about how she doesn't believe in love, but sets out on a trek across country trying to find out what it means to other people. All the while, I got the impression that the director had an agenda all his own, desiring to manipulate Charlyn into falling in love during the making of this film, Michael Cera being the catalyst. It is uncomfortable to watch from this perspective. It exploits this homely characters weaknesses. I can see these men conspiring behind this innocent girl's back, proving to the viewer and to herself that she is capable of love, but that nobody had yet given her the time of day, or the opportunity for love. Regardless, Michael Cera's effortless approach serves only to exacerbate this perspective. All this desperate girl really needs is the slightest bit of attention to fall in love. Her stubborn refusal to admit she is in love with Michael as her supposed friend traipses her around Paris for 12 hours in her weakest frame of mind just adds to the humiliation of it all, especially considering the scene where Cera walks her around the grocery store for a half hour trying to decide what to make for her to eat, settling on a frozen cheese pizza. So pathetic, you begin to wonder if she even has a mind or will of her own. Her friend/actor makes vague suggestions to perhaps be more feminine, or bathe, and that perhaps men would be more interested in her. She ends up awkwardly on Michael Cera's porch, like a lost puppy dog trying to find home. She fell in love and got her heart broken before she even knew what hit her. Oh, and the psychic was right.I'd call this a nerdxploitation film.

First of all, Charlyne Yi is not good in front of the camera and I was less than impressed by her interview skills. When there was an interview, that is. There definitely weren't enough interviews and when they did occur they didn't seem to be all that organized or in depth or intelligent. I felt like Yi never knew what to say. She doesn't seem like a personable person so that may be why.One thing I did think was a good idea was that Yi interviewed many different people about their perspectives on love. She interviewed elderly couples that have been together since their teen years, a children book author, children, and even bikers at a bar. The one thing I was disappointed in was that she interviewed scientists on the chemical reaction of love, which was an impressive idea, had she done it right. The scientists did not have a big enough part in this. They barely spoke on the subject at all. The most fascinating part of the film was cut short.I am a Michael Cera fan but after he showed up in the film, it took an entirely different turn. Paper Heart then focused on the relationship between Cera and Yi, which, may or may not have been staged. Paper Heart reminds me of a reality show. Its "reality" but not really…The idea was great and this could have been a great film had it been done right and definitely by a different interviewer.

As you may have noticed with all the comments, this movie might be mediocre, terrible, great, or some weird combo. I'm one of those who think this was a great movie, but I hope to explain the discrepancies.First, let's get my biases out of the way, so that you can judge my comment accordingly. I am a Michael Cera fan. I am an indie movie fan, but not an aficionado. I wanted to see this movie. I'm a young guy who likes some romantic movies, but they have to be rather good. I didn't know anything about this movie aside from what the trailer tells me. I think that does it.A lot of the comments on IMDb about this movie center around the format. I agree that the style is important to talk about, but not the only thing. The style is documentary, but with certain deviating aspects. It isn't Blair Witch Project; it has decent editing and lighting. The angle is natural, all from a guy or three carrying cameras. Certain scenes are done in paper cutouts in paper scenery and wires for movement. These are usually the scenes that they didn't catch on camera and are important to the plot. These scenes are really charming because of their scale and their construction.The "acting" is also good. The most controversial aspect of this movie is the content, or the plot. Some think that this movie is either simply an observation of life or a movie about an observation of life. Either real or reel, some might say. I tend towards some middle ground. I think that this movie is a documentary about real life including a documentary about real life. There are staged things and things that look really genuine, so I think that it's more of an embellished real story. The cynic in me thinks that a lot of it is fake, but they did a really convincing job so I hope its all real.If you are an optimist, this story will be really cute and lovable. If you believe it to be faked, it's a bad movie. That is why I think it is mostly genuine, if not completely. If this was produced in any really directed way, it would not have included some things in it that it did. But then again, they could have included it to make you think that. Whether you're paranoid about that sort of thing is beside the point. This movie feels very real. I know some of my dates were almost exactly like some in this movie. Charlyne is believable and so is Michael Cera.Michael Cera plays a really cool guy with a cute awkward disposition. If you're a fan of Michael Cera, you'll recognize his characteristic style, but now I believe that style to be more of just how he is instead of an acting style. Regardless, he's endearing. Charlyne is also really lovable because she's funny and easily embarrassed. The two are quite genuine and work really well together because of their similar personalities.Overall, a cute and lovable movie. The ending is unsatisfactory, but that's because there is no end that would fit the story and remain truthful to real life.