Amazon.com: A sweet and subtle gem of a movie. Newly orphaned Addie (Tatum O'Neal) falls into the care of small-time con artist Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal, Tatum's real-life father) and turns out to be better at grifting than he is. Set in Depression-era Kansas, Paper Moon is a miracle of unity. The set design and cinematography combine to give both the flavor of documentary photos and the visual quality of movies from the period, and every performance meshes with the overall tone of sincerity, earnest optimism, and creeping desperation. The rapport between Addie and Moses is phenomenal--and being father and daughter doesn't make that a sure thing. Ryan O'Neal gives a truly great performance (perhaps the only one of his career) and Tatum won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (she's the youngest winner in history). Madeline Kahn was also nominated for her wonderfully funny and sad turn as an exotic dancer named Trixie Delight. Paper Moon has a miraculous combination of outrageous sentimentality and pragmatic cynicism; the result is genuinely touching. One of director Peter Bogdanovich's best films, and kind of a comic companion piece to The Last Picture Show. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - ...If You Believe In Me.
My husband and I watched PAPER MOON with our 11 year old daughter the other night. What a fun, sweet, thoroughly enjoyable family movie. I can't think of a better way to spend an evening at home.
Filmed in the early `70s in black and white, PAPER MOON tells the story of recently orphaned 9-year old, Addie, who falls in with con man Moses Pray. As it turns out, Addie is perhaps a better con than Moses is, and the two of them set out to relieve some unsuspecting widows of their butter and egg money. While swindling their way across the mid-west and surviving a series of hilarious ... Read More
Rating: - "Pray Tell. . ."
No matter what we think of the personal lives of Ryan and Tatum now, (none of our business, anyway) there can be no denying that this Father/Daughter team could act--and what-on screen chemistry they project. Their expressions and timing are amazing as we imagine them using their real lives as valuable experience for the roles. The whole motley crew is entertaining. Con man, standoffish and manipulative young female offspring, exotic dancer, Trixie Delight, played so well by Madelyn Kahn, the bickering of young Addie and Trixie over "possession" of Moses Pray, the rich textures of the rural Thirties ... Read More
Rating: - Paper moon
Tatam and Ryan O'neal are both great in this movie, Tatum(for her age at the time) is soooo grown up.
Rating: - Great movie...fun extras
I came acrosst this movie late one night on cable, and it is now one of my favorites. Tatum O'neal is wonderful. There are some great extra's on the DVD as well.
Rating: - Bogdanovich's Affectionate Depression-Era Road Movie Boasts the O'Neals at Career Peaks
Nine-year-old Addie Loggins is the centerpiece of Peter Bogdanovich's affectionate 1973 comedy set during the depths of the Great Depression. The filmmaker was on a roll at the time as he made the coming-of-age saga, 1971's The Last Picture Show, and the screwball throwback, 1972's What's Up, Doc?, in quick succession. Cineaste that he is, Bogdanovich filmed this episodic, character-driven comedy deliberately in black and white, inspired by classics as diverse as Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves and even John Ford's The Searchers. The result is charming if a bit overlong for ... Read More
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