DVD Review: Paper Heart

Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. Well, at the very least, she doesn’t believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology of love, and her own experiences have turned her into yet another modern-day skeptic.

Follow Charlyne across America as she and her good friend (and director) Nicholas Jasenovec search for answers and advice about love, by talking with friends and strangers, scientists, bikers, romance novelists, and children. They each offer diverse views on modern romance, as well as various answers to the age-old question: does true love really exist?

Charlyne’s pursuit to discover the nature of love takes on a fresh new urgency when she meets a boy after her own heart: Michael Cera. As their relationship develops on camera, her pursuit risks losing the person she finds closest to her heart.

Combining elements of documentary and traditional storytelling, reality and fantasy, Paper Heart brings a fresh perspective to the modern romance and redefines the classic love story.

Review:
Paper Heart is everything that you hope it will be. It’s a refreshing indie movie starring Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, and Jake Johnson. The objective of the movie is to help Charlyne document how and why people fall in love. In the beginning, Charlyne admits that she doesn’t believe she’ll ever find love, and those that know her best simply hope she’s wrong. As the film progresses, Charlyne’s views on love evolve – putting her in some unlikely but pleasant situations with matters of the heart.

The filming took the cast and crew everywhere from Toronto, Paris, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Nashville, and Little Rock just to name a few. In each of the locations, they stopped and interviewed people about love – some were couples that had been together for years and others were divorcees that claimed they would never marry again. They even took the time to interview a couple scientists about what makes a person feel in love from a chemical perspective.

The most heartwarming part of the story is the connection between Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi. While their love story was outlined and not real like the rest of the film footage – it feels real to the viewer. It feels real. In fact, if I hadn’t heard it straight from Charlyne Yi herself at Comic Con this summer – I would have believed that Michael and Charlyne were really a couple. They certainly have wonderful chemistry together.

At the end of it all, Charlyne did admit to us exclusively that the film did change her conclusions on love. The actress commented saying, “I think that it’s different for everyone. I don’t think anyone’s wrong or right. I think it’s what you want it to be, you know?”

The blu-ray release of the film includes some nice special features including the making of the film, live muscial performances by Charlyne Yi, “Heaven” music video by Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera, love interviews with the comedians, and deleted scenes.

It’s a different kind of movie, and one that will definitely warm your heart. Definitely check it out!

And for even more Paper Heart awesomeness – You can check out our full interview with Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, and Jake Johnson from this summer’s Comic Con here – Paper Heart Interview

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: A
Official site: http://www.paperheart-movie.com/
Buy on Amazon: Paper Heart