I was surprised by this flick… I was expecting (and was getting) a pretty standard rom-com, one with likable leads and snappy dialog. I was having fun… and then the twist hits and I realized this wasn’t a rom com at all. More like a comedy version of some melodramatic Lifetime movie meant as a warning about predatory men.

Good on Paper is about a standup comic (actual stand-up Illiza Shlesinger) who has a meet-cute with a nerdy but harmless guy on an airplane. They strike up a friendship that he, eventually, wants to take it to the next level. She eventually gives in… and then starts to notice things about him are not adding up.

As a rom-com, I was enjoying it. As a subversive dark comedy about a woman being lied to by a sociopath, it was hilarious. Not usually the topic for a comedy, I suppose. But the movie does have a toothless charm that allows its creep factor to work as humor. At least it did for me.

I did like that the lead character started having her doubts only shortly after I did as an audience member. It was nice to not have to be infinitely smarter than the protagonist in this situation. Even if her decisions following that weren’t always smart or advisable… or even legal.

Illiza Schlesinger is not a an actor or comedian I recognize but I feel like I should. She’s really funny in this flick. She’s joined by Margaret Cho as her best friend and co-conspirator and together they really bring the funny. In fact, when things start to go down, their interactions carry the movie in a goofy buddy flick kind of way

I don’t know… somehow I think this movie shouldn’t have worked but it did, at least for me. A good, very funny twist on a premise that could easily have been played darker or as an outright suspense thriller. Well worth the watch.

Score: 85