Review of Paper Heart (2009) by Nick O — 13 Jan 2010

I have an odd connection with Paper Heart, the zany documentary about the thing we call "love". I see a bit of myself at the heart of this, which is what makes the flick so personal.

Crazy thing is, the idea of Paper Heart isn't so special. The field of romance is a wide one indeed, and one that's been tackled many, many times before. But just when you'd least expect it, another wacky turn--it's completely original.

Though they're two entirely different movies, Paper Heart does better everything that Brief Interviews With Hideous Men failed with. Charlyne Yi, bursting at the seams with quirkiness, succeeds by adding a fable of Yi's own fling with Michael Cera to spice things up. Cera picks the movie back up right when it was about to lose me.

For a free-hand documentary, Paper Heart is full of surprisingly great shots. Nicholas Jasenovec (interestingly enough, played on screen by Jake M. Johnson) is subtle with the camera all the while staying close to Cera and Yi, to their annoyance. It'll be interesting to see where he goes after doing as genre-busting a film as this.

Paper Heart is an enchanting take on a "romantic comedy", types of cameras used aside. Yi (who co-wrote the script) makes a movie for a small audience that feels very relaxed. And when it's time to go, Paper Heart doesn't fuss about saying good-bye then leaves us with another of the stylish animations narrated by Yi. As innocent as it is outrageous and as funny as it is serious, Paper Heart is an inside joke of sorts, one that will leave you wanting some of the sweet chemistry so eloquently seen on screen.