Paper Heart

Plot synopsis:
Charlyne Yi embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn't fully understand: Love. Michael Cera becomes the object of her affection. Weaving together reality and fantasy, Paper Heart combines elements of documentary and traditional storytelling to bring a fresh perspective to the modern romance.Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. Well, at the very least, she doesn't believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology of love, and her own experiences have turned her into another modern-day skeptic. Charlyne embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn't fully understand. As she and her good friend Nick search for answers and advice about love, Charlyne talks with friends and strangers, scientists, bikers, romance novelists, and children. They each offer diverse views on modern romance, as well as various answers to the age-old question: does true love really exist? Then, shortly after filming begins, Charlyne meets a boy after her own heart: Michael Cera. As their relationship develops on camera, her pursuit to discover the nature of love takes on a fresh new urgency. Charlyne risks losing the person she finds closest to her heart. [D-Man2010]

Tags: paranormal, psychedelic, storytelling, home movie

Review:
Much more so than it pretends not to be.By blending predictable, scripted and entirely acted romantic comedy elements in with what "appears" to be more standard documentary-style interviews, the viewer is left to wonder if anything they are seeing is real, and once that foundation of belief is cracked, the entire movie loses legitimacy.
Li further carries this deception into the real world, denying that she's dating Michael Cera, but then noting in other places that their relationship ended in 2009, conveniently as the movie is released.
Cera is normally a solid actor, but interesting his scenes are the ones where it's most obvious the movie has drifted from faux documentary to a clearly acted and scripted production.
It's a bit unsettling.It's not unwatchable, there's even one or two points where it's almost charming, but many viewers are going to walk away feeling a bit flat, and a bit played.You don't need to dive to find the remote to turn this movie off it it happens to show up for free on your TV.
Faux-documentary starring musician/comedian Charlyne Yi as herself questioning, "Does true love exist?" Along the way, Yi meets with that loathsome robot of an actor Michael Cera, also playing himself.
Their meeting and continuing friendship and eventual relationship becomes a center point for the documentary as the filmmaker Nicholas Jasenovec, not being played by himself but by actor Jake Johnson, tries to find out if Charlyne is finding true love.Now, already knowing that I am a Michael Cera hater, you would think that I would have instantly written off the film the moment he appears on screen.
Their evolution from acquaintances to friends to boyfriend/girlfriend is believable, which naturally benefits the film.Charlyne Yi also has nice chemistry with the strangers she encounters and questions about the matters of the heart.
It sort of clashes a bit with the delightful chemistry between the actors in many cases and makes their performances seem more contrived than real.Still, Paper Heart is a cute and enjoyable film.
Michael Cera is a SURPRISINGLY good character and Charlyne Yi is as cute as a button.
Paper Heart will be enjoyable for its target audience and may even be a good movie for adult couples to see.
And if you liked Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (I did not) or Juno (One great of '08) or just want to enjoy a cute little love story then take a chance on Paper Heart..
"Paper Heart" falls in line with the "Bruno/Borat" style of film-making, where viewers will probably be asking themselves, "How much of this is real and how much is staged?" Maybe in this case it isn't staged at all.
I personally don't know, but I have to say "Paper Heart" feels very real, which is an obvious difference to those two Sacha Baron Cohen movies.The plot has a documentary crew following around Charlyne Yi who's looking to understand the concept of love, by traveling around America and interviewing people.
Charlyne meets Michael Cera at a house party, who acts just like the characters he played in "Juno" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist".
It does have one good line where a girl says she's in love with Chris Brown (or someone named Brown) and says to Charlyne, "At least I admit it.""Paper Heart" doesn't have any real direction, but neither does life.
She and her friend,director Nicholas Jasenovec (on camera played by actor,Jake M.Johnson,so that the real Nicholas Jasenovec can spend time behind the camera) hit the road to try and (somehow)answer her questions by interviewing anybody who is willing to talk on camera.
Along the way,we find out a little more about Charlyne Yi (besides being an actress,she's also a part time musician who actually writes & performs some of the songs in this film).
Further down the road (ouch!---bad pun---my bad!), Charlyne & Michael start to get a bit tired of being in the camera lens when they just want a little down time to be alone together.
For someone like Charlyne Yi who has never been in a romantic relationship before, the subject of love, and the dramatized account of her budding romance with Michael Cera, become the parallel stories in Paper Heart.For director Nick Jasenovec (who appears in front of the camera played by actor Jake M.
The same goes for Michael Cera, who is aware of the camera constantly poking its nose into him and his relationship with Charlyne, whether he's hamming it up for the camera, or being really perturbed by the invasion of privacy.But it is precisely the down-to-earth demeanours of both personalities, that make this film shine as we gleefully become voyeurs shadowing their every move, no thanks to the clause of having the film crew do just that, in case of missing out on any perfect moment suitable for the documentary.
Those familiar with Michael Cera and the stereotyped characters he plays, will find the same kind of appeal in Charlyne, the musician-comedian being almost a female equivalent of Cera, and the pair share some great chemistry together in their young, inexperienced courtship.
Who cares if they're faking it, as they do look adorable together, with their insecurities, hesitations and all!Then there are the flat-out documentary segments, which in truth was to me as entertaining as they were enlightening, exploring the theme of love in as wide a spectrum as possible, gunning for interviews all around America from children and their innocent perspectives, to full-blown theories from various scientific fields.
You'll find yourself adoring the puppets and landscapes (complete with moving parts, mind you!) crafted to reenact these moments, that they'll surely bring about a chuckle or two in the childish, kitschy style presented.Don't head out the door just yet when the end credits start rolling, especially if you're a fan of that insanely touching yet comedic love song performed by Charlyne Yi, and for that little stinger at the end.
I watched this movie simply because of Michael Cera, and sadly I was very disappointed.
At the end if left me wondering who ever thought that the ending was original or funny or whatever they were trying to do with it.The chemistry between the actors was natural and funny at some points, but overall I wish I would have never wasted an hour and a half of my life on this movie.
Nothing about the movie made me impressed with the actors performances, and the only time I truly enjoyed the movie was when I was listening to the interviews of those in love.
I was actually looking forward to this, it looked promising, but it's a very shallow movie, with only one bright point which is Michael Cera, who seems genuinely nice and funny person.
I Want To Know What Love Is. Charlyne Yi, star of the faux-documentary, PAPER HEART, takes a most controversial stand on The Cosmology of Love.
While watching the film you are constrained to consider how silly and weak are the reasons and justifications that most people seem to have for their 'True Love'.
PAPER HEART seems to demonstrate that most of what we suppose is 'True Love' is nothing more than heartfelt wishes which change into conviction over time.
PAPER HEART is a small, light, and engaging film, and Charlyne Yi has more than enough charm to pull off the premise, but after the film ended, it left me with the feeling that maybe Arranged Marriages were not such a bad idea.
It was filmed in a documentary style and for awhile you think it is all real.
Charlyne Yi is the star that thinks she will never fall in love or even feel it.
Michael Cera plays the guy she starts to like.
From the very beginning it was obvious to me that Charlne had some emotional issues and is a highly insecure and clumsy person.The crude and uninspiring interviews did not impress me a bit nor her awkward and most often irrelevant reactions to what was going on around her.As time went by and observing her relationship with Cera I came to realize that this girl needs some serious psychotherapy.
But thinking her relationship with this poor lad was for real I couldn't help it but feel empathy for her and pity for Cera.After watching the movie I read on Wikipedia that her relationship with Cera was all an act!
I'd have rather watched a series of uninspiring interviews with real people than her so-called relationship with Cera.All in all, the movie has absolutely nothing to say about love.
Okay so the premise of the movie is this, fiction and non-fiction content is mashed into this documentary type of film and it's about a girl Charlyne Yi doubting love.
Michael Cera plays a role in this by playing the guy that falls for Charlyne Yi during a party.
This film didn't do so well at the box office and I can tell why, the film hardly has any substance, the relationship between Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera is nothing remarkable same as the interviews which could have gone on and on if they wanted to interview more people.
The whole point of this movie is to find out if love exist, but and was charming at times though.
Charlyne Yi is a cool girl I take it, but this movie makes her look like a moron.
There's nothing wrong with not believing in love or thinking that you be in love, but I don't want to watch as you struggle with figuring out if you want to change your ways or not.I'm making the movie out to be worse than it is.
Bye Bye to movies.You cooked your goose with this one.I doubt anyone will ever watch Paper Hearts a 2nd time.How did you make this?
She doesn't seem like a personable person so that may be why.One thing I did think was a good idea was that Yi interviewed many different people about their perspectives on love.
Nick Jasenovec (Jake Johnson) is directing a documentary about performer Charlyne Yi's search for the meaning of love.
If this was all made up and acted then it was brilliant, if it was 98% true with the prodding of a film crew, then it was still brilliant.On the face of it this is a documentary about Charlyne Yi and her friend Nick the filmmaker going on a road trip to learn about love.The only thing forced seemed to be the director who is acted by Jake M.
It can sometimes feel like him and Cera are friends who probably spoke to each other at some point in the days in-between the segments we see.
I feel that there is an emotionally logical reason for all the moments in the film.Cera often plays awkward people but I have never seen him so actually nervous as he is in some moments with Yi when they are starting to get to know each other better.
First-time feature director Nicholas Jasenovec's pseudo-documentary examines the fictional relationship between comedienne Charlyne Yi ("Knocked Up," "Semi-Pro"), whose thesis is that she is incapable of love, and her real-life boyfriend, Michael Cera, who's fast becoming the festival's crowned prince.
The footage is spliced together with decidedly ho-hum celebrity interviews (Seth Rogen, Demitri Martin are featured) nonchalantly credited as "Charlyne's Friends," experts in the psychology of love, and real couples recounting the foundation of their relationships, aided by ultra low-fi reenactments by Yi featuring rag dolls and paper sets.The film is wholly indie, hitting the familiar beats and consulting that worn checklist (awkward quirky character's self-written guitar sequence--check).
The most disturbing part of this film was that it was hard not to feel that Michael Cera was acting his romantic part in this pseudo- documentary and that Charlyn was truly falling for it.
On the surface it appears as though Charlyn wants to make a documentary about how she doesn't believe in love, but sets out on a trek across country trying to find out what it means to other people.
All the while, I got the impression that the director had an agenda all his own, desiring to manipulate Charlyn into falling in love during the making of this film, Michael Cera being the catalyst.
Her stubborn refusal to admit she is in love with Michael as her supposed friend traipses her around Paris for 12 hours in her weakest frame of mind just adds to the humiliation of it all, especially considering the scene where Cera walks her around the grocery store for a half hour trying to decide what to make for her to eat, settling on a frozen cheese pizza.
She sets out to film a documentary about love and interviews those who have found it, those who have lost it and those who haven't quite gotten there yet.
It is funny and and touching and very sincere.In a nutshell: This is a movie (documentary) about a young girl who does not think she is capable of love.
And I loved Paper Heart.If you have prejudged it because of the actors, don't.
Charlene Yi a writer & comic actress co-wrote this documentary style film on the meaning of love.Nicholas Jasenovic directed & is the other co-writer.It had a short run on about 50 screens late summer 2009.Seeing it on DVD this evening, I did enjoy it BUT would have been disappointed if I saw it in a 'multi-plex'.
she travels around the country asking various peoples if they have ever found true love.Micheal Cera a promising new actor is featured as himself, he & Charlene did have a romance during the filming.
I watched this movie, thinking I'd be watching a documentary about love, moreover it doesn't hurt that Michael Cera is in it.
Michael (and Nick at times) does all the fun things, he is his usual quirky self, which also makes you wonder how real this all is.
I feel that I have wasted my time, this movie is all cute anecdotes and doesn't ask or try to go further in the question of what love is.
I feel a great let down, because I usually love Nick and Michael tremendously..
There are 3 actors in this movie, written and made by the three actors, and all the rest are "himself" or "herself", where real couples talk about their own definitions of what love is."Will I ever find love" is the theme, and Charlyne Yi as herself sets out to answer that question.
Johnson actually plays a role, as Nicholas Jasenovec who in reality is the director of this film.All in all I found it interesting, but in the end an unfulfilling "movie" experience.
And the Cera-Yi relationship part would have impressed me more if there hadn't been that nonsense puppet ending with the police bullets and the Harley.There were a few moments of humour, and some of the stories were romantic, but why was it always the women talking about how they knew it was love with the men sitting beside them with blank disinterested looks.And the wedding chapel where the pretty young oriental girl marries the old almost-dead white guy, that kiss between them seemed too fake, it was like the girl was kissing him and going at it like the groom was Brad Pitt.Essentially the subtext of this movie isn't that positive about love.
Paper Heart is a sweet romantic movie, but is not for everyone.
This spawns from mostly from the documentary sequences of Yi interviewing random people about love, with the highlights of the story told by cutout puppets.
ALso in the movie is a scripted plot between the filmmaker and Michael Cera (Both portraying themselves).
The movie follows the highs and lows of their relationship throughout the filming.I loved Paper Heart when I saw it, but it is a fairly typical Indie movie.
Paper Heart is a semi-fictional film that follows Charlyne Yi who doesn't believe in love, or so she thought.
This is until she meets Mike (Michael Cera) and falls in love with him whilst making a documentary about love with director Nicholas Jasenovec (Jake Johnson) They both search for answers to the question "Does true love really exist?" They ask, a romance novelist, children, judges, couples, strangers, scientists and bikers who share their true love stories.Charlyne is at first skeptical of her love for Michael, we see their relationship unfold on camera, her skepticism and search for the answer puts their relationship at jeopardy, however she soon realizes the answer lies within her own heart.It's a very cute, humorous and sweet documentary-style film that supports the notion of true love, although presents love and relationships as being tricky and that they require a lot of work.
This film shows the beauty of love and will truly melt your heart..
There's lots of insight and entertainment in the journey but in the end credits you see That Nick was played by an actor and so all the material with him in it is scripted, which means that the documentary we just saw was actually fiction.
For the duration of the film until the end credits roll the movie cut deeper and affected us more because we believed we were witnessing reality and so its message worked better.A few people have had issues with the trick though, although I didn't, and this has lessened or damaged the impact for them.
This is what causes the pinnacle of the movie, when she cannot tell Michael that she loves her, when it is obvious that she does.
The interviews with long-time couples kept the fact that this was supposed to be a documentary believable.
Now that I think about it, that makes sense since the move becomes reality only for Charlyne and Michael.Although Charlyne is cute and real, there are some points where I would have liked to see some real acting to keep the documentary aspect a bit more believable.
She sometimes has a look on her face of "what am I doing here" and I'm afraid it makes the movie at times lose it's momentum.The vignettes with the paper puppets (or whatever you would call them) are cute and act well to divide the plot up.