Paper Man (Blu-ray)

Its grow-up time. In the tradition of Lost In Translation and The Squid and the Whale, PAPER MAN is a wonderfully quirky drama about people trying desperately to find the same joy in real life as they do in their imagination. Golden Globe and Tony nominee Jeff Daniels stars as Richard Dunn, a no-hit wonder of a novelist squirreled away in Long Island by his sensible, surgeon wife (Emmy winner Lisa Kudrow) to get cracking on his next novel. Richard isnt totally alone: along for the ride is a local teen (Emma Stone in a breakout performance) who befriends Richard after he hires her to be a babysitterhis babysitter. Plus, theres Richards imaginary best friend from childhood, Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds), a confidante always ready to prod him along towards adulthood, whether Richard wants it or not. Aching, funny and true, PAPER MAN is a genuinely offbeat gem that marks the promising debut of writing and directing team Kieran and Michele Mulroney.