“Paper Man” Movie Trailer Review

“Paper Man” Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Spencer Morton

Indie, dramatic comedies walk a thin line between being cute, emotionally compelling works of art to being overly quirky, unrelatable bores. “Paper Man” could end up going either route, and judging from the trailer, it seems more destined for the latter.

“Paper Man” tells the story of Richard (Jeff Daniels), a washed-up writer who hasn’t written anything relevant in years, if ever. He’s in a tumultuous marriage with Claire (Lisa Kudrow), and can only find motivation and inspiration in his imaginary superhero friend, Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds). Richard develops an unlikely friendship with teen Abby (Emma Stone). Though he has many decades on her, she teaches him more than he’s ever known about growing-up, love and moving on.

The story seems cute enough, and the trailer has its moments. Ryan Reynolds looks particularly outrageous in his Superman-esque spandex and cape. The interactions between Richard and Captain Excellent were the highlights of the “Paper Man” trailer. Most everything else seemed bland, un-original and unbelievable.

The way in which Richard and Abby develop a relationship is wholly implausible. Richard meets Abby one day and invites her to be his babysitter one night. He doesn’t have kids. She shows up to babysit and he spills the beans about not having a kid. Most people’s creepy, stranger, jerk-alert would be going off by this point, but instead of leaving like a normal person, she invites all her friends over and they have a huge rager at an old guy’s house. Additionally, there was nothing captivating about the trailer. It didn’t leave me wanting more, or eager to see it, which is what trailers are supposed to do.

It’ll be interesting to see how “Paper Man” turns out. The trailer shows flashes of promise. A bleach-blond Reynolds should be a treat. For now, however, chalk “Paper Man” up as a silly, uncaptivating ‘dramedy’ that won’t connect with many viewers. The film received a limited release on Friday (4/23).

Below is the trailer for "Paper Man." What are your thoughts?