Paper Heart

Part documentary, part romantic comedy, and all twee, this little movie directed by Nicholas Jasenovec will delight some but turn others off with its quirkiness. Much of the film consists of supposedly nonfiction footage in which Charlyne Yi, known for a standup routine in which she appears as a sweetly nerdy oddball, travels across America interviewing ordinary folk about love. But most of the people she talks to have been preselected, and the guy playing the director is actually an actor (Jake Johnson). Further increasing the ambiguity, Yi's handmade puppets act out some of the interviewees' stories—a cute way of lessening the talking-head effect, but hardly one that encourages credibility. The line between truth and falsehood is definitely crossed in the second part of the picture, with a made-up romance between Yi and actor Michael Cera (Juno), who's a breath of fresh air whenever he appears. Yi is a more equivocal asset: her puppets are clever, but her persona is goofy. Paper Heart closes with a wild parody of Yi and Cera's relationship in action-movie mode, ending this exercise on an appropriately silly note that emphasizes it's a send-up, but with moments that transcend the hipster mentality it so assiduously cultivates in order to suggest something deeper. By turns oddly amusing and infuriatingly smug, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (31 min.), extra interviews with “The Comedians” (26 min.), a “making-of” featurette (11 min.), outtakes (7 min.), live musical performances by writer-star Charlyne Yi (7 min.), the “Heaven” music video by Yi and costar Michael Cera, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)