Paper Man

Just finished watching Paper Man and I wanted to express what a great film I think this is. From beginning to end the movie is touching and full of sublime humor. Sometimes happy, and sometimes sad, the emotional weight leaves you feeling for all of the characters. Jeff and Emma turn in fantastic performances and Ryan's presence brought a smile to all of his scenes. Anyone who has ever felt a bit lost in life will instantly connect with this film, it is inspiring and reminds us that great movies can still be about the little things and characters in all of us. For a debut film, the directors are off to a great start, we need movies like this to remind us that film can still be an art, and does not always have to be about CGI blowouts.

This was a very touching romantic film with an atypical story line--no wonder it made so little at the box office. :( It wasn't obscene or predictable or full of CGI, just actors who did an incredible job including my favorite Jeff Daniels (also an amazing stage actor) and Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds. Well worth watching. I could so relate to some of the scenes of Jeff Daniels. Been there done that. We can really screw up but still in the end feel selfless love, which I believe is the main theme. Although the actors obviously really cared about their work in the film, there were a few times where reactions didn't seem quite fitting to the situation, and there was some lack of character development in minor characters. Some characters seem to be just a bit too unrealistically pathetic and thus unsympathetic (not believable characters). Emma Stone is thoroughly enchanting and sensual and believable. Its romantic minus a lot of the pain as it is imbued with a greater sense or philosophy of life, and not offensive or raunchy like so many modern romantic comedies. Dreamy. Well paced.

The first time I played this movie I fell asleep right after it started and almost didn't replay it the next day because what little I remember of it wasn't too impressive. I would have missed one of the better movies I've seen in some time.

Like a lot of indie films it wasn't cookie cutter Hollywood but also unlike a lot of indie films it had some real acting talent. I had seen Emma Stone in Easy A for the first time and enjoyed her in that role but didn't see any exceptional talent so I was really amazed at the performance she gave in this movie as it was a much deeper and complicated role. You don't realize how good she is until you've seen the whole film and finally understand the undercurrent that has been present throughout. Jeff Daniels is a veteran actor and it was hard to tell at first if he was filling his role but as the film progresses you realize that Richard is a flawed man and has been for a very long time and it has reached a point where it can't continue and Daniels was Richard. The three remaining characters were really only set dressing but they were instrumental in helping flesh out who Richard and Abby really were.

Richard, a 40ish writer who has what appears to be writers block meets 17 year old Abby, a not too typical teen. There is an almost instant mutual attraction that develops into a unique friendship that is decidedly not sexual.How this friendship develops and how it affects the rest of the characters is what made this movie so enjoyable. See for yourself. Daniels and Stone were excellent together.

This film does require a little effort. There are no throw away scenes so if you don't stay with it and pay attention you will have wasted the effort that the writers and actors put into it and probably won't appreciate it. If you have a short attention span or are hooked on Hollywood then don't bother with this one.

This is not the kind of movie I would generally watch or review, but! I must say I really enjoyed it. The message is simple but powerful. The characters are easy to relate to and the moral is quite subtle but important.

Paper Man tells the tale of an unlikely friendship between a middle age author (Jeff Daniels) and a teen aged girl (Emma Stone). Although this friendship is misunderstood by the people surrounding their lives, it asks questions about the meaning and importance of friendship. The use of the imaginary friends helps the viewer to understand the conflict going on in both these peoples lives. And in doing so adds a comical and interesting dynamic to the story.

Performances are strong with both Daniels and Stone. I've always thought that Jeff Daniels was an underrated actor and am hoping that one day he will get his break. I don't think this movie is it, but he is getting closer. Ryan Reynolds is great as Captain Excellent and Kieran Culkin is also very good in the part.

I would highly recommend this film, especially if you have a good friend to watch it with. And if your prone to a bit of a cry during movies, then grab a box of tissues before viewing. Its a very sweet movie. "sniff, sniff."

I remember seeing a preview for this movie once a while back and thought it looked interesting, but then I never heard about it again. While roaming through Netflix one night I came across it in my queue and decided to check it out and very glad that I did.

Paper Man is a very charming dramedy with excellent performances by Jeff Daniels and Emma Stone who form a unique friendship that fills the opposite voids each character has in their lives. The type of friendship they form could have easily been ruined by coming off too romantic, but both Daniels and Stone teeter the line of awkward and endearing perfectly to keep the dramatic aspects in a comedic tone.

Then there's Captain Excellent, the imaginary friend to Richard Dunn (Jeff Daniels) played by Ryan Reynolds. Captain Excellent is the sarcastic "voice of reason" to Dunn that leads to many comical exchanges between the two. The sarcastic tone of the character plays well into Ryan Reynolds' wheelhouse and, because of that, I really enjoyed Reynolds in this roll. I thought both he and Daniels were great playing off each other.

All in all, this is a very solid flick that I would definitely recommend you check out.