Written by Nicholas Jasenovec & Charlyne Yi
Directed by Nicholas Jasenovec
Paper Heart wears its heart on its sleeve. Star Charlyne Yi and director Nicholas Jasenovec (played on screen by Jake M. Johnson)are making a documentary about love. Does it exist? In what fashion? And how do you know it's really there? They briefly discuss the subject with friends and travel the world talking to people with all perspectives on the subject. Except the “documentary” is only one side of the coin, as we are also led to believe that we also witness Yi falling in love with fellow actor and Judd Apatow regular Michael Cera (Superbad, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist).
The problem is that while the real people who have been interviewed on their differing perspectives of love are quite intriguing, the side of the film that is showing Yi and Cera's relationship pales greatly in comparison. Each of the couples interviewed throughout the U.S. have fascinating takes on what love is. Whether it is the couple married for 50 years, the divorced hunter, “Jester” the Harley motorcycle rider who jokes about beating his wife, the gay couple in NYC or an Elvis impersonator who marries people in Las Vegas, everyone brings a tremendous amount of insight to the table. The concept of showing Yi falling in love while trying to figure out if she believes it exists at all is a good one. Unfortunately, since both she and Cera and such introverts and this is the beginning of said relationship, we don't find any grander truths about love especially when laid against these other colorful characters.
At the same time the film is investigating if love exists, it is screaming out to be loved itself. Each of the couples discussing their stories of love has their story interpreted visually by Yi using crude popsicle stick puppets that look like they were done by a grammar schooler. This playful approach starts out amusing enough, but by the time it is used in the climax of the film it becomes tiresome. Whereas every previous story is a true catalog of moments of love, the ending is a fictitious account by Yi of her own relationship with Cera. While it seems to be going for being a cutesy absurd endearing story about her appreciation for him it just ends up silly. Sure she may have found her own way to express love, but was there ever any doubt?
The film never truly convinced me of the legitimacy of the falling in love subplot. If one hasn't figured it out during the course of the film, the end credits set it in stone that this is, in fact, a mockumentary intercut with a documentary. The director himself as we see him is played by an actor that gives Yi a person to bounce feelings off of. Otherwise, the film would be too lonely, no? She would have no way to externally express her feelings. If only she (or I should say, her character) cared about the project! When the cameras get in her way, she decides it is no longer appropriate to be filmed constantly. But if she really was invested in understanding her own stunted idea of love, wouldn't she be keeping a camera by her side, filming herself whenever something important comes along?
It is debatable if mockumentaries can truly be convincing anymore. I would say that in an age where promotion and spoilers run rampant on the Internet, it is nearly impossible. Recently 'Paranormal Activity' came along to test this theory, and I would wager that in the end “the man behind the curtain” was revealed for everyone. The strength of a film shouldn't hinge on this. If the filmmakers do rely on it, like in the case of Paper Heart needing us to believe in Yi and Cera, the film is weakened. Apparently this conceit was accepted at the Sundance Film Festival this year, where the film won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. If only they had simply stuck to exploring odd concepts of love- they might be one screenwriting prize shorter, but maybe a documentary prize would be better.
*** Three Stars - Take it or leave it
Paper Heart will be released on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday, December 1st.
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