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PAPER HEARTMovie Reviews
Documentary about the nature of love, formed from on-the-road interviews with everyday people. Cast:Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake JohnsonDirector:Nicholas JasenovecRelease Date:August 7, 2009DVD Release:December 1, 2009From:Overture FilmsRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 28 min
DECEMBER 1, 2009
Paper Heart, Good (Not Great) Reviews, Mixed (Doc) Key Cities
Paper Heart played in key cities to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Betsy Sharkey wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "...manages to work the meta mostly magically thanks to the sensibility brought by Yi... entertains in a 'people say the darndest things' kind of way." • And Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...paper thin. Looking for love in all the indie-quirky places." More Reviews Below...
Paper Heart Positive Reviews (30 Reviews, reviews below)
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...winsomely weird and original... as much a spoof of film-school self-seriousness as it is a sincere art project, enhanced by Charlyne Yi's great, homemade puppets."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 192 words, 08/07/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "While Cera is adorable, Yi's faux naiveté is overplayed and her philosophical musings are underwhelming. But you won't soon forget the real-life couples she interviews."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 115 words, 08/07/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "But wait! In real life, the heartless Cera has just dumped Yi! Right in the middle of their national publicity tour for this film! Can this possibly be true, or is it a publicity stunt?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 08/06/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...manages to work the meta mostly magically thanks to the sensibility brought by Yi... entertains in a 'people say the darndest things' kind of way."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 498 words, 08/07/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "After a while the two actors pretend to get tired of the cameras following them around. How meta of them! This crazy story line is off the hook! You do the math!"(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 502 words, 08/07/09
Kate Taylor, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...there is some delightful irony in watching Yi pursue her lovelorn documentarian routine while being courted by Hollywood's hottest nerd... the joke is on us..."(See all of Kate Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 565 words, 08/07/09
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...entertaining for a moment, but hardly as enlightening or endearing as the from-the-heart moments surrounding it.... real people are more interesting..."(See all of Robert Wilonsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 243 words, 08/05/09
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...cold and calculating... might be the ideal rom-com for the Facebook generation, with its fondness for stunts and narcissistic need for disclosure."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 430 words, 08/07/09
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "The movie assumes that we're intensely interested in the philosophical well-being and romantic aptitude of Charlyne Yi. This is a naive assumption."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 08/07/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "Even if you don't know what's really what, the mix of the real and the fictional balances the film, giving you hope that Yi, and everyone else, will someday find love."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 528 words, 08/07/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the stylistic games reflect Yi and her generation's larger dilemma. 'Paper Heart' is a movie that can't commit about people who don't know how to."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 08/07/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: POOR(cg) "...a self-conscious semi-documentary about a self-conscious young woman.... paper thin. Looking for love in all the indie-quirky places."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 08/07/09
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...while there is a lot to be gained from a movie asking real people about their experiences with love, the value of a genre-bending romantic comedy is more dubious."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 453 words, 08/07/09
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...all very charming but the movie stumbles when it tries to include the staged-on-screen but real-in-real-life courtship of Yi and soft-spoken alterna-mascot Cera."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 180 words, 08/07/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...cloyingly cute.... yet there's something admirable about such a willfully one-sided enterprise. This movie may be sickly sweet, but it's harmless..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 255 words, 08/14/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...gets by on easygoing charm, rather like Charlyne Yi herself... low-fi comedy is built upon us rooting for her, perhaps hoping that surely there's more magnetism to her..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 388 words, 08/21/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...entertaining for a moment, but hardly as enlightening or endearing as the from-the-heart moments surrounding it.... real people are more interesting..."(See all of Robert Wilonsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 243 words, 08/05/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "Enjoying this wondrous wisp of a something is easy, describing it is hard. Luckily, Charlyne Yi is an enchantress. I'd follow her anywhere."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 153 words, 08/07/09
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Is there anything more heartwarming than watching a little girl officiating at the marriage of two of her favorite dolls?"(See all of Brett Michel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 08/06/09
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: WEAK "...a maddeningly meta blend of documentary and fiction... As to what's real and what's staged, though? The very concept is too annoying to make you care."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 08/06/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...manages to work the meta mostly magically thanks to the sensibility brought by Yi... entertains in a 'people say the darndest things' kind of way."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 498 words, 08/07/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...there may be a fairly sharp line dividing those who find the whole delightfully odd, and those irked by what could be read as a faux childlike simplicity to the enterprise..."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 01/19/09
Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...ultimately gets overwhelmed by the more conventional subplot tracking Yi's budding 'relationship' with Cera, an appealing narrative thread that remains unresolved."(See all of Justin Lowe's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 450 words, 01/25/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...manages to work the meta mostly magically thanks to the sensibility brought by Yi... entertains in a 'people say the darndest things' kind of way."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 498 words, 08/07/09
21.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Paper Heart's reviews are separated by an average 21.1 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Paper Heart (30 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Paper Heart's reviews cover 51.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 10,924 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 364 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Paper Heart Coverage, Volume & Length (30 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 20.5 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Paper Heart's reviews on average broke 20.5 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Paper Heart's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Paper Heart (30 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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