Aided by subtly wounded performances by Daniels and Stone, and a surprisingly affecting comic turn from Reynolds, Paper Man makes up for many of its shortcomings with an abundance of heart.
50
Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal
Quirky. Wacky. Offbeat. Outré. The words that come to mind regarding Paper Man might prompt you run in the opposite direction. And perhaps you should, except for the performances of Jeff Daniels and Emma Stone.
40
Variety
Variety
The picture's biggest stumbling block is its superhero hook.
40
Village Voice
Village Voice
An artist-in-crisis piece run through a drab but quirk-conscious indie processor, Paper Man is everything a film like "Lost in Translation" fought not to be.
Written and directed by the husband-wife team of Kieran and Michele Mulroney, Paper Man is so unsure of itself that its symbolic edifice feels like a desperately erected defense system.
Every time Kudrow exits the picture, imagining her fed-up character's life away from the twee therapeutic noodlings of Paper Man makes for its own time-killing retreat from dull indie-film reality.