The joy of having a ‘Paper Heart’

Offbeat romantic comedies seem to be the thing right now with young Hollywood – and by this I am referring to Paper Heart.

By the way, what exactly is an “offbeat comedy” anyway? And what makes a comedy “on beat”?

In any matter, Paper Heart flows in the same vein as (500) Days of Summer in terms of romantic comedies. It’s quirky, whimsical and all those other words movie reviewers are using to describe these kinds of movies.

Charlyne Yi plays herself in this mockumentary. She, along with her director/friend Jake (Nicholas Jasenovec) travels around the country searching for the meaning of love because she apparently doesn’t have the ability to love – until she runs into Michael Cera (who also plays himself).

The result is an adorably awkward love story between two atypical Hollywood-types, which makes the audience connect with it. There are no frills, there are no singer/songwriter montages and best of all, there is no formulaic “girl-meets-boy” cinematic clichés. It’s grounded and, of course, it’s funny.

You may recognize Yi as that gawky pothead girl who said a total of two or three lines in Knocked Up. With this film, she shows her true colors and proves that she is just as much an Apatow Club member as her counterparts (many of whom appear in the film). She’s funny, talented and knows how to reinvent storytelling (it shows with her paper puppet scenarios; which are abundant throughout the entire film).

As the co-writer of this film, Yi was very ambitious in making a documentary that morphs into a narrative movie – but it works. It’s organic. By weaving in very touching “how we met each other” stories from real married couples in various parts of the country into Cera and Yi’s romantic jaunt, it heightens your appreciation for the narrative. They compliment each other in a clever way that makes you say “Awwww!” and laugh your ass off at the same time.

As usual, Cera deadpans with the greatest of subtle ease, while Jasenovec (as a director and a character in this film) puts his two cents in effortlessly. But the real standout of the film is Yi. Coming from left field and swooping in on the romantic comedy genre with this sort of film showcases her talent….and her infectious goofy laugh.

Paper Heart is now playing in San Francisco theaters and expands to more cities on August 21.