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Screenwriters: Nicholas Jasenovac, Charlyne Yi
Starring: Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake M. Johnson
Running time: 88 mins
Rating: PG
"So what sort of movie is this?" asks Michael Cera, when he learns about the new project that he is starring in. "Quirky? Comedy? Quirky comedy? Just what America needs!" Tongue-in-cheek, of course, from the star of Juno and Superbad, but at times proved true in this often twee, occasionally overindulgent tale about one girl's investigation into whether she believes that true love can really exist. Paper Heart is a bizarre half-fiction, half-documentary journey across America as comedian Charlyne Yi quizzes the general public about their attitudes to love while trying to deal with her own blossoming romance with actor Michael Cera.
Yi, best known for her turn as the stoner girlfriend in Seth Rogen's Knocked Up, does not believe in love or marriage. She's positive that she's missing the gene necessary to make her fall in love, but just in case she's wrong, she decides to embark on a road trip with producer Nicholas Jasenovac (played by actor Jake M. Johnson) in order to interview real-life couples about their feelings on the topic. But, a spanner is thrown in the works when she meets Cera shortly after filming begins and finds the subject of her documentary has taken on a new relevancy as she struggles to cope with her newfound feelings.
Essentially Paper Heart features two self-contained stories: the road trip and the relationship between the two leading actors, but it's in the former section that the movie really shines. Yi's investigation leads her to interview a wealth of memorable characters from Las Vegas to Alberqurque who give their varying opinions on what love is. She chats to bikers, high school sweethearts, newlyweds, a long-term gay couple and even a judge and his family lawyer wife, who share the truly unique tale of their initial courtship. The second part is less successful. Yi and Cera meet through friends at a party and soon begin instant messaging. They progress to lunches, zoo trips and finally grocery shopping as they become a fully-fledged couple. But, not surprisingly, their fairytale romance is soon tested as both tire of the cameras invading their privacy and having to live out their relationship with a film crew watching every moment.
The biggest problem with Paper Heart is that Yi's journey of self-discovery grows old very quickly. While there's no doubt she perfects the oddball cuteness traditionally displayed by Cera, she lacks the necessary charisma and sparkle to carry an entire film on her own. Whether her naivety is real or cleverly constructed to enhance her persona remains to be seen, but her reactions to being questioned by a group of children about her romance with Cera (hiding her face in her hands and running away) suggests that maybe it's her maturity level that is holding her back when it comes to love. Her decision to use crudely constructed puppets to act out the scenarios of love described by her interviewees also grates, as their wonderfully personal tales of triumph and tragedy become overshadowed and trivialised.
Whether Paper Heart works is fully dependent on how much you care about Yi's musings on love and her quest to find it. It's a difficult movie to categorise - it sets itself up as a documentary but the romance between Yi and Cera appears staged (rumours suggest that the pair were actually dating before the project began). There's no doubt Yi should be commended for her bold decision to mix fact and fiction but whether it really succeeds is a difficult question. Where Paper Heart does shine, however, is in the reflections of the general public and few will fail to be moved by their truly inspiring and heartwarming stories of true love.
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