So Paper Heart Is Like A Twee, Girly Borat?
There's a first trailer for the Sundance curiosity Paper Heart, a mockumentary about comedian Charlyne Yi's fake search for the true nature of love, also starring her boyfriend Michael Cera:
Even though, from reading blogs, I knew the documentary aspect of the movie was fake, this still feels like a put-on (and a reallllly precious, twee one at that.) But many of the Sundance reviews refute this (favorite blurb: "I found myself getting choked up during one puppet sequence." Okay!) Obviously any movie starring Michael Cera is going to be given a chance (I even saw Nick And Norah! Cute!), he needs to man up a little and start taking on fewer projects that can be best described as "adorable." It's time.
Posted by Lindsay at 10:00 AM in Documentaries, Trailer
Tags: Borat | Charlyne Yi | Demetri Martin | Michael Cera | Paper Heart
I think Michael Cera has one of those deplorable Asian fetishes that I read about on Jezebel.
Score = -4
you ever notice how critics pick up on each others' words and phrases? and how critics have started labeling anything with actual heart that would require the viewer to spend an hour and a half NOT being really cynical gets called "precious," like it's a bad thing? and that's devaluing the word itself, making "precious" the ultimate insult?
lindsay, you're better than that. there are other, better descriptors in existence. rise above it. and hang out with me sometime, you know, if you want some hot wings from applebee's or something.
Score = 16
Yeah, Lindsay. Swap out 'precious' for 'stupid'.
I think it's telling that she goes to a playground to speak with what appear to be her intellectual equals. Even all of the 'grown up' characters talk to her like she's a child.
As for Charlyne Yi having 'actual heart', I think you're probably right. This is as close to 'actual heart' as someone who lives in the world of a freshman college girl's DVD collection can get.
Score = 3
thanks for answering my call for less snark with, well, snark.
sweetness is as acceptable a response to the pampered life of a twenty-year-old as the faux-mature cynicism that poses as realism in critical circles, and it's certainly better than the unengaged LOLing response to everything else.
not trying to start a fight or anything, because i'm twee like that.
Score = 1
I'm not calling for realism at all. I'm just personally tired of people suggesting that Charlyne Yi's naivety is somehow exclusive from her apparent stupidity.
This looks, in my opinion, like a 'stupid' movie. Which is fine, I like many stupid movies. But, if the film fails to illicit a "LOLing response" or any response besides, "awwww she's so preciousssss" don't pretend it's on some sort of superior intellectual ground above 'Kids Say The Darndest Things' or the Live Puppy Feed.
Score = -1
fair. being unfamiliar in any capacity with charlyne yi, i just imdb.ed her and found out she was thirty-three. this is distressing.
yeah, the movie looks bad. but i still don't like demoting the word "precious" to mere pejorative use, because i do love that word. and, you know, sweetness. like old morrissey said, "it's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate. it takes guts to be gentle and kind." etc.
Score = 0
I believe Morrisey also sang, "I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside."
Score = 3
Also, how is this like Borat at all?
Score = 8
Fake-u-mentary
Score = 2
Wait, Martin Starr is in this movie?
Well. I guess that means I have to see it. It's the law.
Score = 12
Man, even when he is playing himself he's George Michael. That's impressive range.
Score = 17
As a HUGE mockumentary NERD, this looks terrible. If they'd just gone mumblecore with it, it would have been fine, but no.
Score = 4
yeah, he's going to have to star in some larry clark nightmare just to clear the ol' cutsie palate.
Score = 1
I would probably see this if given the chance, but i am kinda on the fence as to whether this will be a good movie. As much as i love Michael Cera, i have to say that Charlyne Yi is the adorable one here. I just want to squeeze her.
Score = 3
Michael Cera needs to spend more time hanging out with Clark Duke, that guy was a good influence. Clark and Michael anyone?
Score = 12
Lindsay come on, Michael Cera? The guy has no range beyond being George Michael in everything he does and he refused for a long time to do the Arrested Development movie because of his fear of being typecast as George Michael. Then he turns around and says yes when he gets bad press? He's not even an interesting nebbish in his films like Woody Allen used to bad. Sad.
Score = -5
I agree with you, Bubbles. I agree.
And also, she's not 33, she's 23; she "lied" about her age. It was supposed to be funny or something.
Score = 0
guys,
1: michael cera can play the same character in all his movies if he wants to. a lot of actors do, but somehow i only hear complaints when cera does it. is it because he's young and successful and was on your favorite tv show and now it's canceled or something? "awkward/adorable" is his acting style. it's what people like about him.
2: this breaks my heart, because michael cera is supposed to be the guy that teaches ME about true love. damn you, charlyne yi. damn your weird, funny, adorable, "ordinary enough to get my hopes up about guys like michael cera liking girls like me" ass.
Score = 1
I love Michael Cera, but his problem is his delivery is the joke. Seth Rogen and Will Arnett may play the same characters, but they are funny because what they say is funny. Cera's awkwardness is sort of the main feature too much of the time. For example, in this trailer, he says nothing funny at all. The humour is entirely from him being awkward.
Score = -6
this looks bad,
I was hoping for more borat-ness
Score = -1
Yeah it seems like very few star actors are actually capable of being different people in their movies. The few who can...
1. Keanu
2. Paul walker
3. Jessica Alba
Score = 8
um, that's his GIRLFRIEND? isn't he like famous? and she is like, um, not?
Score = -8
That girl is fucking ugly wtf? She looks like a cartoon?
Score = -17
Also this woman is 33 and he's 21. Why does she want to be an ugly teenage nerd so bad? Damn act your age
Score = 2
Yikes, that's her age? Well this changes the whole aspect of the movie. As a teenager it's pretty logical and normal to doubt if you're ever gonna find true love, but if you're 33 and you don't believe in love yet, well a mockumentary isn't gonna change your mind.
Score = 0
That show was the best. Michael's audition in the last episode was a classic, as was Mitchell Hurwitz' turn as an agent...
Score = 0
That girl's act is so not adorable. Come on people, you can see through this, right? Paper hearts and glasses and scarves and beards and tiny keyboards and living room dance parties. It's been done, it's boring, it's not cute.
Score = 3
THIS
Score = 0
Hey, cool, I wondered what ever happened to the girl from Rushmore. That's her, right? It's not? Oh. I am not a racist. You are.
Score = 2
this looks wack. why didn't they just make a straight up movie? seriously, how does this project benefit from the mockumentary gimmick at all?
Score = 1
I want to see Michael Cera play a psycho killer.
Score = 1