Paper Heart
You remember Charlyne Yi, right? You actually probably don't know her by name, but you definatly know who she is. She was in the movie Knocked Up, playing Seth Rogen's super high friend who wanted to swap babies with Kathrine Hegiel. "Like, do you ever get mad at your baby because it stole your stomache, but its cool, because it's your baby, so you share." She was a total scene stealer and one of my favorite parts of that movie, well as it turns out, Miss Yi is known for more than just supporting roles in raunchy comedies. Her bill curently says: Stand-Up Comedian/Actress/Musician. That is quite the impressive title now isn't it. She has lots of friends in hollywood as well, with many of them actually showing up in this movie, but you'll have to see it to find out.
The idea behind Paper Heart is very cool. Charlyne Yi doesn't believe in love, she doesn't know what love is, and she for sure will never be in love. So, she decides to take a camera crew across the country and document what she and the film crew find about love. Now, they have actual interviews, and actual people telling what they do indeed think love is. This part of the movie is real, and is filmed documentary style, with Yi behind the camera asking the people questions. However the film becomes less of a documentary when Yi meets Michael Cera, as she is introduced to him through the director. Cera and Yi quickly find themselves falling for each other, and the camera crew decides that their relationship should be apart of the movie, and the two find it hard to fall in love with their life being under a microscope. This part of the movie was entirly scripted, and is intertwined with the documentary, with Yi, and Cera playing fictionalized versions of themselves, infact, everyone is this movie plays themselves except for the director, who is played by Jake Johnson.
The acting in the movie was very nice by all. That being said, it's good, but not convincing, as the actors often deliver cheesy one-liners, some of which hit, and others that end up on the floor. Plus, since we've all seen Michael Cera, we all know his form of acting. You know, the quiet, nervous teenager, whose only real goal at this point in his life is to get laid? Yeah, same basic message here. But who am I to complain when like his subtly acting and his great sense of timing. Yi did good as well, and she had the same, awkward teenagery thing that Michael Cera does.
Why the title Paper Heart? Because during the documentary scenes, when the couples explain some of their stories, there are interlude of paper puppert acting out the story as they are told. It looks a lot like claymation, and you can often see Charlyne behind the sets working the puppets, intentially of course. I liked the idea, and it was very cool, but it seemed to take a little bit out of the movie for some reason. I was good used here, but I don't think I'd be able to watch an entire movie like that.
I liked the whole idea of combining a documentary and a movie together, to have multiple stories going on, but all having the motive of finding out what its like to be in love. While the docummentary parts don't delve to deep, and you won't learn anything new that you haven't heard from a Disney movie, they are still fun to watch and see. Yi and Cera's portion of the movie seemed to work nicely too, but they don't give any insight on love either, as their romance is more like how to deal with your life while being a star. And while they seem to work together seperatly, these three parts (documentary, story, and paper) they don't meld entirly well together, and it makes the movie seem rough and choppy sometimes.
For the most part, I enjoyed Paper Heart. And this is coming from a man, who doesn't really like romantic comedies (with a few exceptions). It was interesting, unique, original, and not cliche. It had an interesting idea and story behind it, which was supported by some good acting. Unfourtanetly, the film is short, at only about 82 mins, and you don't learn much in the way of love. The many film types work on their own, but don't meld well enough for them to conjoin into an effect movie.
I Give Paper Heart A:
3/5
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