Paper Man (2009)

IMDb plot summary: A washed-up writer forms an unlikely friendship with a teenager from Long Island.

Directed by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney. Stars Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds.

Paper Man is a dramatic comedy starring Jeff Daniels as a writer struggling with his second book, Lisa Kudrow as his highly successful doctor wife, and Emma Stone as an angsty local teenager with no direction in life. Daniels holds himself up in a small remote town, hoping to find the inspiration he needs, but ends up developing a strange parental relationship with Emma Stone and behaving more and more erratically until his wife becomes concerned for him. There is a style among a lot of indie stories that I adored in the mid-2000s and then got abruptly very bored of, and this is in that style: misunderstood artist, misunderstood teenagers, occasional moments of magical realism, casual reveals of deep trauma, all with a quirky small town vibe. I can see what it's going for, but the pieces seldom fit, and it doesn't do a great job of striking the right drama/comedy balance. There are definitely pieces early on where I was genuinely concerned for Emma Stone's well-being as she interacted with Daniels, and that just doesn't juxtapose super well against zany imaginary friends helping you find the right name for your main character. There's a pretty fun, if small, plot reveal toward the end that gives us a very moving scene between two of the minor characters, but it was by far the best part of the movie. The rest of it is well-intentioned but pretty muddled.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Paper Man (2009)

📊 Ranked #2118/4043 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 48

lost to Rock of Ages (#2017 → #1294)

beat You Only Live Once (#3027 → #3030)

beat Chocolat (#2523 → #2526)

beat Pitch Perfect 2 (#2271 → #2279)

lost to Bridge to Terabithia (#2144 → #2136)

beat Something the Lord Made (#2207 → #2212)

lost to Marvin's Room (#2175 → #2166)

beat Sneakerella (#2191 → #2201)

lost to Sunday in the Park with George (#2183 → #2155)

lost to Mrs Brown (#2187 → #1740)

beat David Copperfield (#2189 → #2205)

lost to Pride and Prejudice (#2188 → #2182)