CLEMENTINE'S REVIEWS

21st April 2010
Paper Heart (2009)

Director: Nicholas Jasenovec
Writers Nicholas Jasenovec & Charlyne Yi
Starring: Charlyne Yi , Michael Cera, Jake M. Johnson

I was really scared of Charlyne Yi. As the strangely gooselike girl in 'Knocked Up' she had me freaking out at every line. And she was only in that film for about 3 minutes. Paper Heart is the first full length feature starring (and co-written by) this eccentric comedienne. My curiosity was piqued by her love interest - the eternally awkward Michael Cera. What sort of hilarious chemical reaction would occur when the pinnacles of uncomfortable performance collided?

I like 1/10 of this most very very much - Charlyne's fantastic creative puppetry animating the stories of several romantic couples is charming! I found 4/10 really enjoyable - the essentially Charlyne and Michaelesque moments of sweet self consciousness and conversation, and the 3/10 of interviewing people ranging from scientists, Vegas chapel owners, and little kids about their takes on love felt fresh and lively. The remaining bits, mostly in the last segment of the film slowed down the pace for me, and felt like it was a little out of the spontaneous mood of the rest of the film  - it felt more laboured and more fiddled with, as if they were still trying to figure out a good way to wrap it all up. It was fulfilling to see the interactions between our romantic leads, the only weak parts being the slightly forced and obvious plot points and snippets between the director and Yi.

The concept is sweetly fresh and with two excellent leads it was mostly in good hands. They were probably more hopeful than ambitious for something great, and for the most part it was a good piece of indie romantic fun with some nice perspectives on love.

Verdict: An entertaining realistic indie romance most enjoyable for lovers of Yi and/or Cera.