Paper Man (2009 film)

Paper Man (also known as Unlikely Hero) is a 2009 American independent comedy drama film written and directed by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. The film stars Jeff Daniels as a struggling writer who relies on a childhood imaginary friend to help him with life decisions, Emma Stone as a 17-year-old high school student who befriends him, and Ryan Reynolds as the imaginary Captain Excellent. The film was developed at the Sundance Filmmakers’ Labs.

Plot
Richard is a failed novelist who still talks to his imaginary superhero friend, Captain Excellent. At the urging of his wife Claire, Richard has moved to a Long Island beach community for the winter season in order to overcome his writer's block.

There, Richard meets 17-year-old Abby, whom he sees while riding his rustic bike around town. He sees her light a fire in the trash can for no apparent reason. Richard hires her as a weekly babysitter even though he has no children. When she shows up to her babysitting job and he reveals to her that he has no kids, Abby seems completely fine with it and Richard decides to spend his time at the pier talking to Captain Excellent, who insists that Richard can never make a correct decision without his help. When Richard comes home he is awed by the discovery that Abby has made soup while he was away. He envies her having made this with her hands, as he has trouble using his hands to make anything. He hires her again for the same time next week, despite Captain Excellent's warning that it will only lead to bad things. Richard and Abby form a tenuous father-daughter-like relationship. Abby tells Richard about the death of her twin sister, Amy, while Richard confides in her about his failing marriage.

Meanwhile, Christopher, Abby's imaginary friend since Amy's death, watches her relationship with Richard grow, and though he feels neglected by Abby, all he wants is for her to be happy, no matter what that means for him.

Richard hosts a drunken party for local high school students and is punched by Abby's boyfriend. The party ends, the house a mess, and Abby and Richard fall asleep together on a couch, where Claire finds them the next morning. She and Richard fight, with him childishly blaming her for the fact that they had never had children and that his family name will die with him, though as she reveals, it had been his decision not to have kids.

Abby and Richard lose their imaginary friends, and Richard sends Abby a note before returning to try to rebuild his relationship with Claire.

Cast

 * Jeff Daniels as Richard Dunn
 * Lisa Kudrow as Claire Dunn
 * Ryan Reynolds as Captain Excellent
 * Emma Stone as Abby
 * Kieran Culkin as Christopher
 * Hunter Parrish as Bryce
 * Arabella Field as Lucy

Release
Paper Man was first shown at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. MPI Media Group acquired the rights to show the film in North America and it was given a limited release on April 23, 2010.

The film was released with the new title Unlikely Hero in the United Kingdom on DVD by Signature Entertainment in April 2014. E1 Entertainment released the film on DVD in Canada in 2011.

Critical reception
Paper Man received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 32% based on 31 reviews with an average score of 4.73/10. Metacritic gives the film a score of 37% based on reviews from 15 critics.

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "listless, tepid, lifeless and fake". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "Off-kilter and awkward from the get-go, this comedy never finds any rhythm or reason".