Newcomers can be forgiven for being a little put off at first by comic Charlyne Yi. Like the late, great comedian Andy Kaufman, it’s impossible to tell if Yi affects an uber-dorky persona as part of her act or if it’s simply who she is. Also like Kaufman, the truth most likely contains elements of both. Those outside her circle of friends will likely never know for sure.
In the similarly half-truth/half-fiction Paper Heart, which premiered at Sundance last week, Yi sets out with director Nicholas Jasenovec (played by actor Jake M. Johnson in the film) to determine what love actually is and whether she herself is capable of such an emotion. Mixed in among interviews with real people in love are scenes from Charlyne’s budding relationship with actor Michael Cera, which grows increasingly troubled as the demands of the film intrude on what ought to be private time getting to know one another.
Yi’s pixie-like appearance and sincere sweetness prove disarming to every interviewee she meets, from stodgy biology professors in Lubbock, TX to jaded fast food marriage ministers – Elvis-impersonating and otherwise – in the sin-filled city of Las Vegas. Her questions are frank and to the point, the answers likewise. Each of the love stories shared in these interviews plays out on-screen in low-budg puppet theater, with the paper-mâché cutout players directed by Yi herself.
Then there’s the possibly-scripted budding relationship between the film’s star and Cera. Almost as soon as Yi denies the possibility that she herself is capable of finding love in the film’s opening moments, she meets Cera at a Los Angeles house party. Their awkward initial encounter eventually gives way to a romance built on common interests. The dreaded “S”-word never once enters the picture. Yi pulls up short of admitting that she may indeed have found love in Cera – and who can blame her, given the young age and for-viewing-pleasure nature of their relationship – but it’s clear enough that her stubborn façade is beginning to crumble.
Paper Heart is a sweet, touching exploration of the concept of love and what it means to different people. The documentary interviews provide a diverting counterpoint to Yi’s more personal story of young love in bloom. Regardless of whether or not it is scripted, the connection she and Cera share exudes an openness and honesty which is an absent ideal in all but the most fortunate of budding relationships, and the film is all the more memorable for it.
Directing: B+
Writing: B
Performances: A
Visual Appeal: B
Overall: B+
Director: Nicholas Jasenovec
Cast: Michael Cera, Charlyne Yi
Genre: Comedy
Reviewed at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival [Article and Image Source]
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