Paper Heart

How do you define love? Is it something that's short lived and passionate, or a long drawn commitment? Is it that fleeting and can disappear on a whim, or something that you know for sure is permanent, consistent and wouldn't change? For those who have been through a phase of having loved and being loved before, you're likely to have developed your own philosophy - cynical, sentimental or pragmatic. For someone like Charlyne Yi who has never been in a romantic relationship before, the subject of love, and the dramatized account of her budding romance with Michael Cera, become the parallel stories in Paper Heart.

For director Nick Jasenovec (who appears in front of the camera played by actor Jake M. Johnson), meshing the two threads together in a seamless fashion blurred the line between fantasy and reality. At times the documentary segments crosses over to the dramatized narrative, that it becomes hard to tell whether Charlyne, as the explorer of the theme, is genuinely being herself, or just putting on a facade to be in character. The same goes for Michael Cera, who is aware of the camera constantly poking its nose into him and his relationship with Charlyne, whether he's hamming it up for the camera, or being really perturbed by the invasion of privacy.

But it is precisely the down-to-earth demeanours of both personalities, that make this film shine as we gleefully become voyeurs shadowing their every move, no thanks to the clause of having the film crew do just that, in case of missing out on any perfect moment suitable for the documentary. Those familiar with Michael Cera and the stereotyped characters he plays, will find the same kind of appeal in Charlyne, the musician-comedian being almost a female equivalent of Cera, and the pair share some great chemistry together in their young, inexperienced courtship. Who cares if they're faking it, as they do look adorable together, with their insecurities, hesitations and all!

Then there are the flat-out documentary segments, which in truth was to me as entertaining as they were enlightening, exploring the theme of love in as wide a spectrum as possible, gunning for interviews all around America from children and their innocent perspectives, to full-blown theories from various scientific fields. It's Love 101 for Dummies succinctly summarized in a film, where you'll begin to realize that it's pretty much all-encompassing, with personal interpretations from talking heads sharing their most memorable accounts in anecdotal terms. You'll find yourself adoring the puppets and landscapes (complete with moving parts, mind you!) crafted to reenact these moments, that they'll surely bring about a chuckle or two in the childish, kitschy style presented.

Don't head out the door just yet when the end credits start rolling, especially if you're a fan of that insanely touching yet comedic love song performed by Charlyne Yi, and for that little stinger at the end. It's an ambitious documentary of sorts for taking on a subject as vast as "Love", and personally I thought there's a subtle lesson learnt here from all the couples who have made it through their decades-long marriage anniversaries, and that is being a guy, it's as one of the interviewees mentioned, just say I do and subsequently, forever, just Yes Dear. Looking at the way the film got constructed, it's also important to keep the mouth shut, and agree with everything the lady says. Just watch the film, and see if you agree with me on this one!

I give the creators props, it's creative and this is a kinda movie that hasn't been done before (to my knowledge) it could pass as a very real documentary. But it's not. And I find myself wondering why this was made. I think it works, it's rather entertaining and has some funny interviews from folks (not sure if they're real or not but I'm assuming most of them are). But what's all it for? I dunno maybe I'm missing the point. If it wasn't for Michael Cera this movie would be a 3 or 4. Instead its a 5.5

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.

The basic conceit of this movie rather self-destructs as the line between documentary and reality show is deliberately blurred by cast and crew. Some people have described this film as quirky, but instead, I found it self-indulgent and contrived. Well, most of it anyway. I didn't believe for a moment that Charlyne Yi doubted that love, romantic love, is achievable, but alternately, I would suggest that she pretends she isn't lovable, and effectively, that affectation is less than adorable. Methinks she doth protest too much....

Some of the people interviewed had compelling stories, but nothing exceptionally profound, or remarkable. The film's conclusion left me rooting for the camera operator. Matter of fact, midway through the film I delayed making a trip to the restroom because I was certain I would miss the one essential element that would make "Paper Heart" worthwhile. As you might imagine, I was relieved when the credits finally rolled.

So this movie was a bit different. It's filmed like a documentary, and you might actually think it's real if you didn't know better. In fact, I question if some sequences are the performers telling how they really feel. It's about a girl who doesn't believe in love who kind of dates Michael Cera. She is very suspicious of anyone who shows her interest, and puts up a lot of defenses. Do they end up together? I won't tell, but I will say the ending is kind of crazy. I enjoyed it well enough for a single watch. I don't expect to sit through it again, though. Something about Charlyne's attitude is kind of off-putting to me.