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Good on Paper
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Amusing relationship comedy has lots of drinking, language.

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Good on Paper
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What's the Story?
When 34-year-old Andrea (Iliza Shlesinger), a stand-up comedian and aspiring actress, meets Dennis (Ryan Hansen) on an airplane at the start of GOOD ON PAPER, sparks don't fly. But Dennis persists, and he does indeed look good on paper -- he says he went to Yale and works as a hedge fund manager. Despite his somewhat unexciting appearances and demeanor, which Andrea doesn't find attractive at first, he's smart and kind and eventually wins Andrea over as a friend and later boyfriend. But Andrea's best friend Margot (Margaret Cho) has her doubts, and she pushes Andrea to question some of the inconsistencies of Dennis's story.
Is It Any Good?
Iliza Shlesinger and Margaret Cho make a very funny duo, and while this collaboration isn't great cinema, it's an amusing and well-paced hour and half of entertainment. The few laugh-out-loud scenes in Good on Paper involve the pair together -- an over-prepared stake-out and a misguided interrogation come to mind. The film flashes every now and then, Seinfeld-esque, to Shlesinger doing stand-up routines related to the movie's storyline, which we're told is "a mostly true story." These inserts could have fallen flat or pulled the viewer too far out of the action of the story, but since she's playing a stand-up comic and the routines are part of her character's story, it works.
In the film, the comedian's act revolves around questioning gender roles: Why when women do certain things are they judged so much more harshly than men? The inserts are funny especially in the context of the story being told. A final sequence involving a courtroom battle feels out of tone for the rest of the film. Ryan Hansen captures just the right mix of weird and harmless to make his character believable and only slightly creepy, keeping things from getting dark. Beyond the devious beau, it's a good bet that some of what Shlesinger's comic deals with in Good on Paper -- like a drunk "bro" telling her she's funny "for a girl" and the jealousies and struggles of forging a career in the entertainment industry -- are also "a mostly true story."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the inclusion of stand-up comedy routines in Good on Paper. Have you seen this done in other series or movies? Do you like their addition? Why or why not?
The adults in this film, all in their 30s, seem to feel insecure or dissatisfied for a variety of reasons. Why? How does this affect them? How do you think a person can avoid this?
How is drinking alcohol portrayed in this movie? Does the drinking pose a problem in any of the characters' lives? How so?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 23, 2021
- Cast: Iliza Shlesinger , Ryan Hansen , Margaret Cho
- Director: Kimmy Gatewood
- Inclusion Information: Female directors, Female actors, Bisexual actors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 92 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: language throughout, sexual references, and brief drug use and nudity
- Last updated: February 17, 2023
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