Good on Paper review: Iliza Shlesinger and Ryan Hansen’s performances are worth your time

3/5

What's it about?

Andrea Singer (Iliza Shlesinger) has got everything going for her. She's a reasonably successful stand-up comedian with consistent gigs, however she fantasies about getting into the scripting world – a fantasy that her opponent Serena Halstead (Rebecca Rittenhouse) appears to have accomplished without an ounce of hard work at all. (She's even got her face on a billboard). After another failed tryout, she ends up meeting a man Dennis Kelly (Ryan Hansen) on her trip back to LA. A Yale graduate, Dennis comes from a different world – yet he appears to be caring and entertaining, reassuring Andrea.

At first, Andrea is adamant to keep things in the friend zone, but after a drunken night out, she consents to be Dennis’s partner. She allows herself to be happy, regardless of whether she feels like she's just settling for somebody she's not especially drawn to and overlooks the warnings her friend Margot (Margaret Cho) gives her. A couple of more weird episodes and dubious stories Andrea understands that something is just not right after more alate, Andrea understands that something is just not right.

What's hot?

Good on Paper unquestionably falls into the classification of 'against romantic comedies, it resembles My Best Friend's Wedding, Chasing Amy, and (500) Days of Summer, however, it's anything but A Simple Favor at certain minutes and B-level comedies at others.

Ryan Hansen gives a great performance, playing the unruly in a truly convincing way. With the assistance of that facade, that side part, Hansen truly makes Dennis the ideal extortionist. I felt myself hating the familiarity of his character, as we all know some variant of Dennis. Hansen ought to be in more stuff. Margaret Cho additionally aces allllll of her scenes as Margot, Andrea's BFF.

Iliza Shlesinger has become something of a backbone for Netflix; with a small bunch of standup specials like War Paint, Confirmed Kills and Unveiled, she's a force to be reckoned with. In this self-acclaimed autobiography, in light of a lying ex, Shlesinger is enchanting as this sensationalized form of herself. Checking in at 92 minutes, Good on Paper flies by, deeply inspiring us with its sentimentality.

I like most about the flick because Dennis isn't some knockout; he's the man so many of us are fooled into loving, the decent man who reassures you and is practically perfect. What's more, Andrea isn't swooning over him from the beginning; it takes time for her to yield and free herself from this relationship, and when she at last does, it's past the point where it is possible to return. She's gotten tied up with the falsehood, even though he's wearing a suit made of warning signs.

Good on Paper is pulled from Shlesinger's ingenuity and makes it all the more intriguing; I ended up being more drawn in than what I may have been if it had been anecdotal. It's not difficult to fall for this story and this group of individuals. From things like female companionship and how women pit themselves against each other to what we settle for and the agonizing force of falsehoods - Good on Paper doesn't land each move it attempts to make, however, it is engaging regardless.

Verdict?

Good on Paper may not dominate each subject it attempts to handle, yet a strong theme and Shlesinger and Hansen's performances make it more than worth your time and energy.