Andrea (Iliza Shlesinger), is a stand-up comedian, hoping to make it in Hollywood as a successful actress, that has prioritised her career for a multitude of years, but when she accidentally meets Dennis (Ryan Hansen) at an airport in a chance encounter, this nice, smart, seemingly successful man, enters her life and causes havoc in various different ways. This new comedy isn’t the worst thing to hit our screens as of late, but it’s certainly not the finest either. It’s worth noting that Good on Paper is currently streaming on Netflix.

Director: Kimmy Gatewood
Writers:  Iliza Shlesinger
Starring: Iliza Shlesinger, Ryan Hansen, Margaret Cho, Rebecca Rittenhouse

Based loosely on real life experiences, Good on Paper most definately isn’t your typical, happy ever after romantic comedy that has just been introduced to Netflix. Instead, this movie provides a surprisingly original story, one that stood out as one of the primary strengths of film in general, thus making it stand out from many of the others in the same genre.

The story and its unpredictability made for a refreshing change – from the first few minutes of the film, right up until the last few minutes, you found yourself in suspense as to how things were going to unfold throughout the ninety-two-minute runtime. With that being said, however, some viewers may be left disappointed with how things did ultimately unfold. A somewhat weak finale to an otherwise solid movie.

One other positive aspect of the film that stood out to me was the way in which a comedy stand-up routine was effortlessly incorporated between many of the scenes. Snippets of the main character’s comedy set would occasionally be shown, while the humour on the whole didn’t at any point seem too forced, nor was it over the top and vulgar in nature – something many films target these days.

In terms of the cast, Iliza Shlesinger starred in the lead role, portraying Andrea, the thirty-something year old that was struggling to find her way in Hollywood, whereas Ryan Hansen starred as Dennis, the man responsible for causing a large majority of the chaos throughout the picture. Elsewhere, Margaret Cho and Rebecca Rittenhouse provided support, adopting the roles of Margot and Serrena, respectively.

All in all, if you’re hoping for an easy to watch film one evening, which doesn’t involve much brain power and includes a fair few humorous moments, without going wildly over the top, then you’ll be sure to enjoy Good on Paper. As mentioned previously, Good on Paper is currently streaming on Netflix.

“For me, the story was not about love at first sight…”

Andrea – Good on Paper