Is Netflix’s Good On Paper based on a true story?

OK, here’s where things get really juicy. Good On Paper is inspired by a lot of things that actually happened to Shlesinger and her ex who she met in 2015. In an interview with Variety, the star said: “Two thirds of that movie are true. Every single lie that [the character] Dennis Kelly tells in this movie, those are lies that I took from memory that were told to me. All of those lies happened.” This includes the ex saying that he studied at Yale, worked a hedge fun job, owned a house in Beverly Hills and had a lot of money. He also said that his mum had cancer.

Shlesinger started to realise that something wasn’t quite right after three months of dating, when he was unable to pay for a party he’d insisted on throwing for her. But finding out that he hadn’t gone to Yale was when things really unravelled (her IRL mum made the call to the Yale registrar’s office, while her pal Margot does in the film). It also transpired that he was in $600,000 debt and his mum did not have cancer. As the truth became clearer, Shlesinger called him out on it over text. He admitted everything.

Good On Paper: the real dating horror story behind Netflix’s new rom-com