Paper Man
Directed by: Kieran and Michele Mulroney
Written by: Kieran and Michele Mulroney
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Lisa Kudrow, Hunter Parrish, Kieran Culkin

Most adults have shed their imaginary friends from their childhood, yet their childish conscious may have never left. For Richard Dunn, his imaginary friend is Captain Excellent, equipped with tights and cape, and appears to be Richard’s only voice of reason. Paper Man has your typical modern quirkiness with familiar faces that poses little risk to audiences. Debut writer/director husband/wife team of Michele and Kieran Mulroney have crafted a comedy that does not provoke big belly laughs, but mostly just slight smiles.

Richard (Jeff Daniels) takes temporary residence at a small home in Montauk to finish his next novel in solitude. Claire (Lisa Kudrow) is adamant that Richard gets his life back on track and grows up during this writing sprint. Growing up is difficult for Richard, as his imaginary friend, Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds) is still a major part of his life and severely prevents Richard from achieving solitude. Richard’s writers block continues to prevent him from starting the first sentence, often due to hesitation in deciding the main character’s name.

An unlikely friendship forms between 17-year-old Abby (Emma Stone) and Richard, after he hires her to babysit for him. The only issue: there is no child to babysit. Abby is involved in a rocky relationship with Bryce (Hunter Parrish) and is stalked by her friend Christopher (Kieran Culkin), whom at first appears to be everywhere Abby goes. The nights Abby “babysits” for Richard are the nights where she find herself productive. Reading Richard’s previous novel, enjoying the quiet time, even making soup with minimal ingredients.

Richard is blown away by Abby’s ability to make soup out of the simplest of ingredients. Her ability to create, even if it is soup, inspires Richard. Richard and Abby’s friendship continues to form, to which they reveal how their pasts have prevented them from moving forward. Richard is an unsuccessful novelist married to a highly successful surgeon. Abby carries the guilt of her twin sister’s drowning with her. Together the two form a platonic bond to attain the strength to quash their fear of the future.

The charming platonic relationship that grows between Abby and Richard has many obvious resemblances between Lost In Translation. A middle-aged male is a stranger in a strange land who befriends a younger female who is at the edge of a coming-of-age experience. Both characters rely on each other during their transformative stage, and despite losing touch at the end of the film, they acquire the fortitude to move on with their lives. The resemblances are too apparent to ignore.

The ensemble cast allows us to bask in familiar and comfortable faces, however, it is Emma Stone who brings the only noteworthy performance. Her shift to become Abby seems almost invisible, allowing her character on screen to be more believable. Jeff Daniels’ performance features hints of talent, primarily in the chemistry between Stone and Kudrow. Reynolds’ and Culkin who had pivotal secondary characters, are adequate when called upon in the plot, and disappear like a true imaginary friend.

Culkin plays into a character much like many of his previous roles, yet Christopher appears to be the epitome of your typical angsty American teenager. Kudrow still has her Phoebe persona on display, yet her character’s contempt at Richard towards the end of the film allows her to shed her former Friends character for good.

While the plot does have some predictable moments, the character of Christopher is involved in a subtle twist towards the end of the film that reaffirms the motivation, or shall I say, the demotivation of Abby’s character. The imaginary characters in this film are more than just friends, they are the regressed consciousness for Abby and Richard.

At the end of the film, Captain Excellent stands off in the distance during an extreme close-up of Richard’s face. Captain Excellent stands just above Richard’s right shoulder. Captain Excellent and Christopher are the voices of reason for Richard and Abby, and the need for them to reject them is necessary for them to grow and move on.

The idea that Richard chooses to write the book with autobiographical elements typically shows lack of creativity with the writing. With Paper Man, we are slowly given Richard’s backstory to show a much more satisfying way to implement that ending. Richard explains to Abby that he is the end of the line for his namesake and legacy. He is an only son, of an only son, who has not produced another son. This parallels Richard’s interest in writing a book about the extinct breed of hen that was last seen in Montauk.

Each scene transitions well into the next, nearly seamlessly. The overall editing is adequate, but shines the most during montages with Richard battling his writer’s block while Captain Excellent eggs him on. Together, Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney have written a mildly enchanting story but it does not have enough urgency for a full recommendation.

The character study approach allows the themes to be apparent but not beaten over the head. While being a comedy, Paper Man is more of a film that has characters and situations that are funny, but without reason to laugh out loud. With just a little too much unnecessary quirkiness and predictability, Paper Man does have a hint of platonic charm and is not too risky for a rental. — Aaron Weiss

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