He’s been Hannibal King and Deadpool, already, and he’ll soon, of course, be Green Lantern, so why shouldn’t he be Captain Excellent, as well? Just take a look at the poster to the right for PAPER MAN ( courtesy of Comingsoon). Ryan Reynolds has become to the go-to guy for superheroes at the movies, although Capt. Excellent isn’t based off a comics character nor does it look like his characterization’s going to be that straightforward. At least, that’s what I’m inferring from the movie’s official synopsis…
[PAPER MAN is] a coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne [Jeff Daniels] and a Long Island teen [Emma Stone] who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife [Lisa Kudrow] and his imaginary Superhero friend [Ryan Reynolds].
This flick's coming out some time in the spring/summer and it sounds like this has more in common with THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO than it does with something like UNBREAKABLE, or even DEFENDOR. I’ll say that the cast is definitely appealing, although ever since DUMB & DUMBER (my personal favorite comedy) I’ve been waiting for Jeff Daniels to bust out some physical comedy. It’s been too long since we’ve seen his violent battle with an entire coffee mug’s worth of Ex Lax. I’ve liked Emma Stone since SUPERBAD and her turn in ZOMBIELAND definitely has made her one to watch.
I’ve never had an imaginary friend, myself. Although, there were times when I was shooting skits entirely alone for my public access show in high school where I started to suspect I might have more than one. Did any of you out there in the bountifully-imagined Comic Vine community ever have one? Sometimes I speculate that YOU all are, in actuality, figments of my imagination. After Wonder Con, I’m only sure that RadZombie, Misterz173 and AngeTheDude are real. Be sure to prove me wrong and come out for C2E2.
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this April - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.
Log in to comment