January 02, 2010

Paper Heart (2009)

2/5

Paper Heart's trailer is full of more concentrated entertainment than the film itself. The movie is a quasi-documentary about actress slash comedian Charlyne Yi as she tours the country interviewing people on their thoughts about love. During the filming, she meets Michael Cera and they start dating. The Cera subplot-that-becomes-the-main-plot doesn't for one second feel believable. And that's the problem with this movie: it's so obviously staged. Which would be fine if it were enjoyable or creative or clever, but instead it's simple and basic and awkward. Is it just me, or is anybody else sick of Michael Cera playing the same awkward man-child in the same awkward relationship as the other three million "quirky" indie comedies he stars in? Charlyne Yi is equally awkward with an endearing laugh that quickly becomes annoying after hearing it for more than three seconds. And it goes on for many more than three seconds. This is an aggravating film for many reasons, most aggravating perhaps because there are some nuggets of quality and I can't just dismiss it as being all bad. My favorite parts were Yi's re-imaginings of the random stories, especially the finale. Other than that, trash. And who wants to watch garbage?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1331064/