Paper Heart is probably one of the kookiest, honest and unconventional stories about love you are likely to find on the DVD shelf this Valentine?s Day.
If, like us, the sight of Sandra Bullock or Matthew McConaughey gurning on a DVD cover leaves you with the uncontrollable urge to be violently ill, then this is the perfect antidote.
This is a hybrid documentary; half the time with Charlyne Yi (convincingly playing herself) interviewing people from around America on what love means to them, while, on fiction side, she starts to fall for the perpetually asexual Michael Cera.
Charlyne isn't your typical star. The word ‘quirky’ is an apt description. She has a nervous excited energy that comes across as completely charming on camera. Equally, Cera displays his usual eccentricities that have given him a career of awkward adolescents.
As their relationship begins to grow it doesn't get marred by typically conventional dialogue, never seemingly forced or staged that many mockumentaries stumble into. Instead, it's the charming offbeat dialogue and inane banter that spark real-life chemistry that the film focuses on. Yi clearly has a knack for writing this type of dialogue and it is an impressive debut in front of the camera and on the page.
The film?s indie roots also serve for a pleasantly warm aesthetic, wandering from location to location and taking in the stories from people of all ages. The trip to a Las Vegas wedding chapel comes with obvious humour (paired with an Elvis minister) but the film can also be genuinely touching.
Even the cardboard reconstructions are quaint, pilling on the cute in enormous measures. The interviews themselves are mixed with some engaging targets and Charlyne manages to get the best out of them – especially the children she talks to in a playground (she clearly relates to them best).
The film also relies on her relationship with the director Nicholas Jasenovec (the real director?s name, but played on camera by Jake Johnson) which has the playful buddy banter that you usually doesn't apply to two members of the opposite sex.
Paper Heart wears its quirky heart on its sleeve, making one of the most enjoyable and original romantic comedies in quite some time. It really is hard to dislike something that effortlessly oozes this type of quirky cuteness. Just don't tell anyone we have a soft-spot, alright?
?Spray Rating: 4/5
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