The Awkward Believe in Paper Hearts

It didn't take much persuasion by a friend of mine to get me to see Paper Heart last week. "What's the movie called? Paper Heart? ...Wait it has that crazy awkward Asian girl (Charlyne Yi) from Knocked Up in it along with George-Michael Bluth himself, THE Michael Cera? I'm in!" The very notion of these two nebbish characters joining their forces within a single film, much less one recounting the story of their true-life courtship, is brilliant. As you may imagine, the film stars Yi as a charming, quirky yet lovable up and coming comedienne/actress opposite of Jake Johnson, playing the film's director and Yi's friend Nick Jasenovec. Their mission is simple: Yi, who claims to not believe in love, will put her convictions to the test as she and Nick film a documentary and interview subjects all across the country. Her assumptions about love are put to the test when she meets Cera (playing the same character he plays in every film/TV show...at least this will hold me over until more Arrested Development) and a delicate romance begins to blossom between the two, all while the cameras are rolling in the background.

What unfolds is a very clever "mockumentary" that deftly blurs the line between reality and fiction. The film's most touching moments are its When Harry Met Sally style recounts of how various people met and fell in love. We hear the stories as shared by the couples themselves and view them not as a pure dramatizations, but rather in the form of playful dioramas that Yi seemingly created herself (see above picture for an example). One of the film's most laugh out loud moments came on a playground in the deep South, where 7 year olds quite literally lectured and interviewed Yi about love and dating ("...best date you ask? Hot wings at Applebees!"), exposing at least one child that is destined to be television's next Bob Eubanks or Bob Barker. Yi also interviews some of her celebrity friends regarding their views on true love, namely the hilarious Seth Rogen and Demetri Martin.

Coming off of seeing (500) Days of Summer just one week prior, I may have become a little indie'd out, but that said the movie's tone of quirky optimism makes you leave the theater beaming no matter how much you try to the contrary. Unlike (500) Days, which impressed with both its complex writing and cinematography, Paper Heart benefits from Yi and Jasenovec's simple structure and premise, a serene soundtrack (mostly penned by Yi and Cera), and its charming naivete. Paper Heart makes for a compassionate and hilarious summer diversion in which Yi and Cera take you along for the ride of their lives, documenting (or mockumenting?) the very roots of their budding relationship.