Paper Heart (2009)

I like this movie very much. I think that it is a well-crafted mockumentary, one that doesn’t do what nearly every single other fake-documentary has done in the past, a comedy film or a horror film. It creates a comedy-drama film out of a very interesting concept. I really hope that more movies take this kind of tongue-in-cheek approach to both love and to serious documentaries. And yes, this is a mockumentary. The cover of the DVD is a bit misleading, and so is all of the reports I’ve read about the film before watching it (usually I do a decent amount of research for a film before I watch it. Now here’s your research so that you don’t feel like an idiot like I did). It says that it is a documentary with Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Now, while I do believe that some of the scenes here are real, mainly the questioning scenes for random people in the streets across America. But most of the film is fiction. Every single time Cera is on screen, he’s playing a character. And I have no problem with it. I am just a little confused by the fact. The scenes with Yi and Cera are basically a romantic comedy, most likely similar to film, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist than to-say-Superbad. This is speaking in terms of the films of the great Michael Cera. And after watching Paper Heart, I still believe that Michael is a very good actor. He gets a lot of heat for playing the same role over and over, but-he is good at it. And he will expand. Even if it takes him a while. He was acting his best in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and he just is going to get better. That is what I believe. Although, I should probably talk a bit about the movie. The movie begins as a documentary with Charlyne Yi about love and her skepticism of the subject. She interviews people in love, out of love, and all in between. And here, the movie works as an average documentary. Nothing special, nothing boring. Just a documentary. And then the fiction comes in, and it tells the ironic tale of a documentary about the love where the unloving star falls in love. And now, it seems like I’m heaping praise on the film, but it is still boldly carrying its flaws. For starters, the movie is a little bit uncoordinated at times, it feels like something that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Also, the movie is a bit long and-just-feels off at times. I know that what I’m saying isn’t very specific, and I’m sorry for that, but I really cannot describe it. The movie just feels off. If a tighter editor has gotten a hold of this, it would be a great film. But sadly, it is not. It’s just a regular old movie. It’s not gonna hurt you to watch it. But don’t go out and buy it.
8/10