Customer Reviews

Paper Moon

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I can't think of a big enough cynic who can dismiss the charms of this movie. On my list, Paper Moon qualifies as one of the best comedies ever made, a mixture of childlike wonder and wry sarcasm, simultaneously detached in its narrative approach (thanks to amazing understated camerawork) and intimate.

The script has no faults. Scenes hurtle forward at a brisk but never hyper pace, every moment pregnant with character development and sharp dialogue. Ryan and Tatum O'Neal's exchanges are pristine in their comic timing, side-splitting and touching at the same time, effortlessly exploiting the chemistry between father and daughter. Their scenes in the car are so hilarious and endearing that you'd wish you could ride with them for hours longer. And the film is rich in period flavour, from the stark black-and-white photography to the music to every character, evoking a sense of longing for a more innocent age without ever lapsing into downright nostalgia. The themes -- the vagabond heart which can't stand still, growing up, identity, friendship -- ring as true today as they always did.

I saw this movie when I was quite young and it's never lost its magical hold on me. Watch it again even if you have already; you will discover something new every time.

Adapted from the matchless novel "Addie Pray" by Joe David Brown, Paper Moon is set in the Midwest/dustbowl during the Great Depression/Roosevelt era. One-of-a-kind directing by Peter Bogdanovich, beautiful black & white cinematography, a great musical score with snippets of old time radio shows like Fibber McGee & Molly, Jack Benny and a host of others.

Real-life father & daughter duo, Ryan & Tatum O'Neil team up in this gem of a movie.

Ryan plays Moses Pray. A slick, sliver-tongued, gold toothed, travelling huckster & who always has a new con to turn up his sleeve such as door to door Bible selling to recently widowed women, bootlegging, short changing, and a "car swappin' wrasslin' match" between Moses and a very young Randy Quaid. Tatum plays Addie and garnered the coveted Oscar for her performance at the tender age of 10. Addie decides to get in on many of the cons and becomes quite a prolific short change artist. Addie decides on her own to take Moses' last name and travel with him under the guise as his daughter. In one of the best scenes in the movie they deal with whether or not Addie is Moses' illegitimate daughter. That scene is set in a diner while drinking NeHi's and eating Coney Islands. Addie is sure that Moses is, indeed, her father as she states, "We got the SAME jaw!" Moses responds and says, "I know a lady who has the jaw of a bullfrog but that doesn't mean that she's the damn things mother!" Addie asks Moses, "You meet my mamma in a barroom?" (implying that her mamma was a prostitute). Moses comes right back asking Addie, "You think that just because a man meets a woman in a barroom means that they get a baby?" Ryan and Tatum's bantering repartee is natural, hilarious and touching all at the same time.

The Prays fall "prey" to a con played on them (well, Moses anyway) as the film progesses, by a hootchie-cootchie sideshow carnival dancer/prostitute named Miss Trixie Delight, adeptly played by Madelyn Kahn who was also nominated for an Oscar. The sneaky and a little jealous Addie deals with Miss Trixie in her own time and also helps out Miss Trixie's maid, Imogene and gives her money to return back to her family.

This is a great family movie with a touching father/daughter story to share. No nudity, few "cuss" words, and an all-around crowd pleaser whether you are 6 or 106. I don't mind telling you that this is my favorite movie of all time and I have viewed it upwards of 100 times. I still laugh, cry, and go through a multitude of emotions no matter how many times a watch the film. Certainly, a hallmark of a great cinematic masterpiece! Happy Watching!

In the 1970s, director, Peter Bogdanovich was at the top of his game contributing a number of classics to that particular golden age of filmmaking. His masterpiece of course was the brilliant movie, "The Last Picture Show", which deserves all its accolades.But one film, which I do not feel has recieved its proper due, is his wonderful nostalgic comedy, "Paper Moon".This is among one of the best comedies to come out of the early '70s. "Paper Moon" takes place in the dust bowl Midwest at the height of the 'Great Depression'. Bible salesman/con-artist, Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal) stops by the funeral of an old female acquaintance to pay his respects. He is immediatly talked into delivering the deceased women's little girl, Addie, (Tatum O'neal) to an Aunt in Saint Joseph, Mo.This episodic film then becomes a road trip movie. At first Mos' and the precocious, little girl (she smokes and swears) are at logger heads. But soon he discovers that Addie is smart and just as good a con- artist as he is.The two team up together and devise various scams to part a variety of fools with their money. Along the way in their adventures they meet up with crooked cops, bootleggers, grieving widows, gullible store clerks,a carney dancer & her valet and even a family of rasl'n hillbillies. Bogdanovich has created a wonderful nostalgic film that is full of both humor and pathos.We laugh as we watch the cons unfold and the twosome (most of the time) get away with their crimes.But their is also a certain melancholic atmosphere, throughout the movie as Bogdonovich shows us a rural America, which has been descimated by the effects of the dustbowl and the Depression.This is greatly aided and highlighted by Cinematographer, Laszlo Kovacs's brilliantly stark, black & white photography.Kovacs's photograhy shows us both the harshness of the midwest's barren landscapes and the pain indelibly etched into the faces of the inhabitents of this place.The photography along with the costumes, set design and music give this film a really authentic feel for the 1930s era.The acting in this movie is first rate! Father/daughter acting team of Ryan & Tatum O'Neal are fantastic in their comic screen roles, giving probably the best performances of both their careers.Compliments should also go to actress, Madeline Kahn for her wonderful supporting role as Miss Trixie Delight, a hilarious carney hootchie-koo dancer who runs a bit of a Con of her own. This is a great classic movie of the '70s, which will give you hours of entertainment! I highly recommend it!

Tatum O'Neal is so knowing in her portrayal of Addie that you can hardly believe she was 10 at the time. She deserved the Oscar. Ryan O'Neal rarely has been so pitch-perfect. And Madeline Kahn is radiant and truly hilarious as Trixie Delight, as is her under-appreciated servant-girl. The writing is tight, never cloying, and explores an interesting relationship at a peculiar moment in American history. This movie is lean, funny, moving and resonant on every level. One to own.

As a movie buff, I have viewed and enjoyed a number of pictures, but I have never considered one of them my "all-time favorite movie." Then I saw "Paper Moon." Ryan and Tatum O'Neal's on-screen chemistry sparkles. If you love witty comedy, not to mention a bit of suspense and emotion, this is for you. I decided to have my mother watch it with me one night, and before she would consent to seeing it, she said, "Now is this 'Paper Moon' going to depress me?" I couldn't help but laugh. "No," I said, "it's a happy movie." And it is. I can't help but smile, each and every time I watch it.

I remember seeing this film back in the early 70s and was mesmerized by the 1930s visual and aural feel of the film and the emotional dynamic of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Thirty years later, this film has not lost any of these qualities, and given that I am 30 years older, I appreciate this film far more than I ever did. A delightful story that takes place in the middle of the Depression in middle America, Paper Moon is the story of a father/daughter con artist team (Moses Pray/Addie Loggins) who go from town to town swindling people in an outlandish yet believable manner, and in the process both develop a need for one another that goes beyond the financial. Tatum O'Neal's ability to emote her feelings through her simple yet powerful facial expressions and her intelligent dialogue is so convincing that you see her subtlely transform from a seemingly innocent child to a worldly adult who understands human nature just as much as the grown-ups around her. Tatum's portrayal of Addie is truly uncanny and what makes it so poignant is the fact that she had no formal training as an actress prior to the movie's production.

This movie is also the high-water mark of Ryan O'Neal's career despite the fact his career was just starting in the 1970s. I cannot recall any other film he did where his acting was crisp and so in the moment with his character's effort to improvise and take advantage of unsuspecting patsies. However, Moses Pray's equal as a scoundrel is truly Addie Loggins (if not, his superior), and their many scenes together (the unforgettable diner scene and the ones when they're driving in the open country) capture verbally and non-verbally their uneasy yet developing father/daughter relationship. The black and white cinematography which uses in-depth focus, wideangle shots (i.e., all objects in the background and foreground are in clear focus) faithfully draws the viewer right into the Depression era and the emotional settings of not just one character but all characters depicted in every frame. Bogdonovich's directorial efforts provide seamless continuity, and the film retains its simple yet evocative feel. This is truly one of the best low-key comedy/drama classics ever and am surprised it has not received the recognition of artistry it truly deserves.

The DVD (excellent quality image, sound, and special features) and the praise above makes this product Five Stars all the way !!!

The early successes of director Peter Bogdanovich -- which began with TARGETS in 1968, followed by his masterpiece THE LAST PICTURE SHOW in '71 and WHAT'S UP DOC the next year -- ended in 1973 with an evocative and endearing comedy-drama called PAPER MOON. Shot in rather stark black-and-white photography in real locations, and taking place mostly in sleepy locales and barren landscapes of the 30s, PAPER MOON seems to echo the memorably desolate world Bogdanovich had created in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. But rather than a depressing look of American life, PAPER MOON is a light-hearted adventure about a con man and a tomboyish orphan girl partnering together to pull one small-time scam after another, with the girl often saving the day. The small cast of actors all give memorable performances. But the film will be most remembered for the work by then eight-year-old newcomer Tatum O'Neal as the orphan, who is on the screen nearly constantly and basically carries the whole film. She imbues every scene with the right emotions, convictions, world-weariness, precociousness, and understated pathos and comedy. It is a thoroughly convincing portrayal of a character that probably should have been played by a slightly older actress (in the original novel, it is a 12-year-old) to be believable. But looking at it today, it is an irreplaceable performance.

The Region-1-only DVD version offers a good-looking widescreen anamorphic transfer, with the high-contrast black-and-white photography presented very well, with only a few graininess here and there to mar its quality. The mono audio sounds reasonably good. Bonus features include three short featurettes, running about half hour total, that include present-day reminiscences from Bogdanovich, co-producer Frank Marhsall, production designer Polly Platt, as well as all-too-brief comments from cinematographer Laszlos Kovacs. They recount production history, casting choices, and on-the-set experiences. It's a shame that none of the actors appear. A few outtakes are also shown. And Bogdanovich recalls a few amusing anecdotes.

Bogdanovich also offers an audio commentary for this DVD. It is a mostly scene-specific commentary in which he elaborates on his intentions, the challenges, and the experiences in most aspects of the shooting. He had to shoot a long confrontation scene between Mose and Addie in over 20 takes. And 47 camera setups were needed to shoot a seemingly ordinary but pivotal one-room scene. He praises the acting and the photography, and explains why he liked to shoot in long takes and in deep-focus black-and-white. He makes references to THE GRAPES OF WRATH a couple of times while commenting on the mostly barren landscapes of the movie. He admits he didn't use storyboards, which is hard to believe considering the impeccable compositions in many of the shots. Also astonishing is that the film's wonderful ending did not come to him until almost at the end of the shooting.

One of the movie's charms comes from watching the various scams being carried out by the two characters. And to the credits of the filmmakers, their tricks are not fully explained as to how they actually work, so the viewer has to be observant. Below is a description of the short-changing scam that occurs twice in the movie. I admittedly didn't understand it until after several viewings:

The con artist goes into a store to buy something under a dollar. At the register, he pays with a $5 bill. The store clerk takes the $5 and gives him the change. Then comes following exchange.

The con artist says, "I have too many singles in my wallet. Let me give you five $1 bills and you give me a $5 bill."

The clerk gives him a $5 bill and takes the five ones. So far so good.

While the clerk still has the five ones in his hand, the con artist says, "I still have too many bills in my wallet. Let me give you back the $5 bill, together with the five ones in your hand. And in exchange, you give me a $10 bill."

The clerk unwittingly hands him a $10 bill -- not knowing that he only owes $5, not $10, at that point.

The joy, the sorrows a bevy of fine performances will keep your "sunny side up" throughout this unique period film from the seventies. Overjoyed on hearing the news that a favorite film is being released on this superb format always is such a pleasant surprise in a sea of disposable entertainment.

The quality of the print and sound is "picture perfect" I'm sure that this will not be the "Last Picture Show" I'll be buying but a welcome addition in these slightly tight financial times.

The price of this heartfelt masterpiece is something that "NO" one should squabble in consideration. The memories share in "Extras" by Mr. Bogdanovich and members of the production crew along with rare outtakes wraps up this delectable gem like Cotton Candy swirled on a paper cone, sweet and sticky, but finger licking good!

Also included is the joy of a Commentary track by Mr. Bogdanovich, now what more could you possibly asked for .... a Coney Island and a Orange Nehi?

Yes, as others are saying, this is a great film. The question is why hasn't it been released on DVD yet? 'Nough said.

Everything about this film from start to finish is perfect. The acting, story, direction, period filming. The choice to film it in black and white was a great one. It has drama, comedy, suspense, and never loses your attention. I have watched it over and over thoughout the years and I never get tired of it. There aren't many films you can say that about. You can really picture a Moze and Addie driving around Depression-Era Kansas selling bibles. Best Scene: Addie refusing to eat her Coney Island and yelling in the cafe, "I want my 200 dollars!" to Moze who realizes he has met his match in this nine year old girl. Great fun!