Paper Moon (1973)

So much average

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I'm not one for nepotism, but the father/daughter team of Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon is undeniably entertaining. Those two work really well together. This film is an interesting mix of humor and drama, placing a light-hearted con artist story in the midst of the great depression. Tatum definitely deserved the Academy Award she won for this performance.

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership. Paper Moon is another horrible and overrated mess of a film that doesn't belong into the Top 250 movies of all time, the acting was somewhat of boring, the characters were on the same exact path as well and the storyline very muddled and boring. Paper Moon is not a film that should have tried that much but is a film that at least should have a little bit of good drama but it lacks it. (0/10)

Paper Moon shows us a simpler time, those Depression Era Thirties. In those days everyone was scratching for a dollar some less honestly than others like Ryan O'Neal. He plays a conman whose current scam is being a Bible salesman. Now could there be anything dishonest about a salesman of the Good Book? I won't describe his con, but it's a good one and in Middle America, Kansas of the Thirties, there's lots of suckers ready to be trimmed in this kind of scheme.But O'Neal gets a call on route that a woman he was intimately acquainted with has died. The 10 year old child she left behind could very well be O'Neal's.Ryan only agrees to deliver the girl to an aunt in St. Joseph, Missouri, but real life daughter Tatum kind of grows on him. And she certainly has his conning ways which would convince anyone she really is his daughter. She aids and abets him and comes up with some schemes of her own. Especially one involving Madeline Kahn who is a woman of some easy virtue who Ryan takes up with and Tatum can no way see as a mother figure.Paper Moon with its great musical score of 30s standards is my kind of film for that alone. But with real life father and daughter playing father and daughter on screen there's a special dimension for those really sublime and quality scenes. It's what earned Paper Moon it's Oscar for Tatum O'Neal as Best Supporting Actress. Doubly impressive since Madeline Kahn was also nominated. Paper Moon was also nominated for Best Sound and for Adapted Screenplay.In the cast you will really be surprised at John Hillerman's portrayal of a mean and corrupt redneck sheriff. It is such a far cry from being Higgins on Magnum, PI, Hillerman carries it off so well.I doubt in this day and age that Tatum and Ryan could have had the happy ending they did, but that's probably for the better. Still Paper Moon is nice nostalgic film about some less than honorable people.

Peter Bogdanovich's 'Paper Moon' is everything a road movie is supposed to be - a life-changing personal journey, a quest, a bit old-fashioned and above all, a hoot. The story is simple. Young Addie (Tatum O'Neal) finds herself orphaned with the death of her single - and apparently rather free-spirited - mother. The arrival of a man named Moze (her real-life father, Ryan O'Neal) at the funeral, provides the other mourners a chance to pack Addie off to her aunt in Missouri. Moze is reluctant to take her along, but sees a chance to blackmail some money out of the whole situation. However, his dreams of pocketing a windfall of $200 and sending Addie off on a train come to nothing - the wily young girl demands the greatly diminished sum that was meant for her care. As a result, he finds himself saddled with this grimly adult child (who is fairly certain that Moze is her father) as his assistant in a crime spree through the Midwest – a scam involving sale of overpriced Bibles to recent widows. In essence, Moze scans obituaries for gullible widows he can convince to pay the balance on Bibles their husbands "ordered" for them - deluxe editions with the names embossed in gold - before "passing on". Unsurprisingly, Addie is an adroit, if unruly, student, who upstages both his skill and daring.Yes, 'Paper Moon' is about two con artists, but not really about their con, and that's a relief. The scam is only part of the story, which takes a number of turns before reaching its end - including Moze picking up a tart from a sideshow - a carnival dancer named Trixie Delight (a cheerfully trampy Madeline Kahn), who is accompanied by a long suffering black maid, Imogene (wonderfully played by P. J. Johnson) who later turns out to be Addie's partner-in-crime. Bogdanovich takes the con games only as the experience which his two lead characters share and which draws them together in a way that's funny sometimes, but also very poignant and finally deeply touching.The film is shot in gorgeous black-and-white, giving it a documentary feel that meshes perfectly with the sweet cynicism of the characters. But what really underscores the film is amazing chemistry between the O'Neals. The fact they are father and daughter in real life helps flavor their working dynamic in an intriguing way. Tatum O'Neal is an absolute revelation - she spends much of the film with a sourpuss expression pasted to her adorable little pixie face, but breezes through the film with astonishing confidence. Ryan O'Neal's roguish charm is perfect for the character and the result, paired with his daughter, is a strong co-lead dynamic, in a tale about their delicate relationship that teeters on father-and-daughter quality without adopting the name.A true treasure, Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon belongs to a magical world that has elements of whimsy and noir!