DVD Review: ‘Paper Heart’ Intriguingly Blurs Line Between Reality, Fiction

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CHICAGO – Some actors are so good that it’s easy to take their work for granted. Take Michael Cera, the veteran child actor-turned-unlikely teen heartthrob. From his breakout work in “Arrested Development,” to his crowd-pleasing performances in “Superbad” and “Juno,” Cera has created a comic persona as indelible as Woody Allen’s.

The sweetly neurotic vulnerability he exudes is so authentic, it’s easy for audiences to confuse the actor with the characters he regularly portrays. Is he a brilliant actor, or is he simply playing himself (which itself is no easy feat)? Such questions lie at the deceptive heart of Nicholas Jasenovec’s intriguing and infuriating romantic comedy.

HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0

“Paper Heart” purports itself to be documentary about one young woman’s quest to discover the nature of love. The woman is Charlyne Yi, a comedian and performance artist not unlike Cera (she’s best known for her scene-stealing cameo as a pothead in “Knocked Up”). She’s also equipped with an impenetrable persona that evokes the giggly spirit of a wide-eyed girl who refuses to grow up. The film, which Yi also co-wrote and executive produced, is infused with a childlike sensibility, epitomized by the hand-crafted puppets used to illustrate “real life” stories of love. These stories come from ordinary people Yi meets on her cross-country road trip, accompanied by her film crew. She doesn’t interview these people so much as react to them, and often just seems ill-at-ease.

Charlyne Yi searches for love in Paper Heart.
Charlyne Yi searches for love in Paper Heart.
Photo credit: Anchor Bay Entertainment

In a parallel storyline, Yi encounters a man after her own heart, Michael Cera. He falls for her the instant he spots her at a party, and their subsequent dates feel blatantly staged. Both actors seem incapable of being on-camera without hiding behind their comfortable personas. How can they ever really know each other if they spend all their time “acting”? The constant presence of the creepily invasive filmmaking crew begins to take a toll on the relationship, yet there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of chemistry between Yi and Cera anyway. Their alleged offscreen relationship was revealed to be a hoax around the time of “Paper Heart’”s theatrical release (which may have caused its initial failure to connect with audiences).

The film’s inherent theatricality is further emphasized by the fact that director Jasenovec is played in the film by an actor, Jake M. Johnson. His performance is the film’s most deeply layered, since his close friendship with Charlyne may have romantic undertones. Does his character wish to sabotage Yi and Cera’s relationship? The remarkably original script by Yi and Jasenovec, which won an award at Sundance, never attempts to answer any of these questions. The biggest clue to the film’s artificial nature comes from Yi’s parents, who say that if their daughter ever did fall in love, she would keep it private.

Though “Paper Heart” is ultimately an experiment that doesn’t quite work, it’s still well worth a look. It may lose steam in its final act, but it finds the perfect note to end on. The film is really about deception, and the degree to which we all put up an artificial front in order to connect with others. It’s the kind of picture that becomes more intriguing the more you think about it.

“Paper Heart” is presented in its 1.78:1 aspect ratio with an anamorphic widescreen transfer. Special features include a half hour of deleted scenes, and nearly a half hour more of Yi’s extended interviews with fellow comedians (like Martin Starr, Bill Hader and Demetri Martin). There’s a music video by Yi and Cera, but it offers no “Juno”-style guitar duet. In a brief making-of featurette, Yi says that her onscreen interactions with Cera were always meant to be fabricated, yet doesn’t mention the true nature of their offscreen relationship. A series of live musical performances prove Yi’s natural gift for comedy, while a series of bloopers further prove that Yi is not a natural-born interviewer.

‘Paper Heart’ is released by Anchor Bay Entertainment and stars Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera and Jake M. Johnson. It was written by Charlyne Yi & Nicholas Jasenovec and directed by Nicholas Jasenovec. It was released on December 1st, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

Paper Heart was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 1st, 2009.
Paper Heart was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 1st, 2009.
Photo credit: Anchor Bay Entertainment

HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Matt Fagerholm

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
matt@hollywoodchicago.com

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