I found “Paper Man” in a metal bin at the back of Shopper’s Drug Mart. I hadn’t heard much of the 2009 flick, but remembered seeing stills of Ryan Reynolds in a superhero costume and horrible, bleached hair way back when. I decided to buy the DVD, on discount, at the store. It had a great cast, boasting the likes of Reynolds, Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Kieran Culkin and Lisa  Kudrow; and, based on the DVD’s description, it had an interesting plot. Plus, it was cheap (bonus!)

The story follows Richard (Daniels), a writer who moves to a beach house to work on his next novel. His wife, Claire (Kudrow), is a doctor in the city who only visits Richard on weekends, which makes the writer quite isolated. To battle his loneliness, Richard still talks to his childhood imaginary friend, Captain Excellent (Reynolds); but eventually finds real friendship in a 17-year-old named Abby (Stone), who he hires as a weekly babysitter (despite having no children to watch.)

“Paper Man” is so excellent, I urge you to watch. It is creative, unique, surprising and boasts an amazingly talented cast. Despite the cast containing comedic talent, “Paper Man” is not really a comedy, which is probably why it wasn’t well-received with critics. It could pass as a dark comedy, but I would consider it more of a quirky drama. Regardless of genre, this indie film is a new favourite of mine.