Paper Moon

If Hayes, Kansas, and thereabouts...were the perfect locations for Peter Bogdonavich's classic "Paper Moon," then the film itself is the perfect realization of those real places forever etched in celluloid.

Few times will you ever see a film so visually wedded to its locale and cinematic style. In a typical film, you might picture the presentation of the movie working in a number of ways, but in "Paper Moon," it will forever seem like it could only have been done this way...on location, in black and white, and photographed like moving Andrew Wyeth shots of Americana.

Tatum O' Neal is terrific and justifiably won an Oscar for her part, but Ryan is wonderful as well....funny in that exasperated manner that Bud Abbott is, and the quality goes right down to the smallest bit player in the cast.

A perfect film would have great acting, great visuals and utilization of music, a superb story and lines that have you repeating them for years. Welcome to "Paper Moon." I can't recommend this blend of comedy and drama enough. A modern classic.

Paper Moon is one hell of a movie. I saw this film as a 10 year old in 1973 and loved it then as I do now at 39. Set in Depression era Kansas, it is story of the relationship between Addie, a smart talking 7 year old, and Moses, a bible selling con man who might be her father. The on screen chemistry between Ryan and Tatum O'Neal is fantastic. Madeline Kahn is great as a side show floosey they pick up along the way and she almost steals the show! Filmed in Kansas and Missouri, director Peter Bogdonavich used local people in cameo roles which adds to the authentic feel of the film. Also to the director's credit, this film may be one the best to portray 1930's America. All in all, Paper Moon is full of great characters and a fine story line. On a personal note, I saw this film with my 90 year old grandmother and she laughed throughout the film and said it was one the best films she ever saw. That's not a bad recomendation coming from someone born in 1883!

True, TATUM O'NEIL won an Oscar for her role as Addie Pray in PAPER MOON and fully deserved it. Her dad, RYAN O'NEIL must have been proud of her but his only reward was a Golden Globe nomination.

The con artist and little girl theme had been used before in Damon Runyon's famous comedy "Little Miss Marker" with Shirley Temple and Adolphe Menjou. But here the twist is that the girl is just as much a con artist as the man--and that's the key that makes the film so much more palatable for 1970s audiences without getting too sentimental about it.

There's a real Depression-era feeling to the whole story, with some richly detailed panoramas of rural America and its citizens at that time in history. Peter Bogdanovich has done a commendable job in making sure that his authentic backgrounds illuminate an enchanting tale about two drifters who share an unusual partnership when it becomes clear to the man that the girl would be a valuable aid in his con work.

There's a bright supporting role by MADELINE KAHN as Trixie Delight, a stripper who tosses off some good one-liners, but it's the chemistry between Tatum and Ryan that turns this into the most satisfying "buddy" movie of the '70s.

Summing up: A treat not to be missed.

The Last Picture Show was a great film about small-town usual Americans, and in Paper Moon the director proceeded to represent this idea. It is made very thoroughly and tells us a story in a very gripping way. It really takes a talent to make a film without shoking or brand new ideas so great. The film is plain and it's story is quite simple, but this wonderful storytelling, directing and acting make Paper Moon a brilliant. Ryan and Tatum O'Neal made their job on the highest level and look very charming together. Every movie fan should see this masterpiece.

Unlike many films of the early 1970s, plenty before and after, viewing this doesn't continually remind you of the time of its creation, but instead deposits you into the age of the Great Depression where your mind resides for the duration.

The development of the relationship between Moses and Addie is near perfect, their capers, scrapes and mischief endearingly conjuring a bond they both desperately need. I didn't expect this to be anything like as engrossing, charming and engaging as it was, perhaps being the father of two daughters with attitude enhanced the experience, but whatever it was left a lasting impression.