PAPER MOON ... THE COMEDY REVIEW
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"As P.T. Barnum put it, 'There's a sucker born every minute.' " The basic story is set in the 1930's, in a Midwestern region of the country. When a struggling con man meets up with a clever young girl, they turn into a dynamite team, making money off the gullible townspeople, from various con games, that they meet as they travel through towns together. Moses meets the fatherless Addy, at her low brow mother's funeral, and volunteered to take the child to her Aunt's in Saint Louis. Moses was a scam artist that worked his game on the surviving widows of the recently deceased , whom he had found through town newspapers. He would show up on their doorstep, insisting that their dead husband had ordered an expensive Bible, from The Kansas Bible Company. He soon realizes that this young girl had a gift for the scam game, as he watches her in action. So, they team up together to make a profit, meeting many interesting people as they go along. Of course, they run into trouble at one point along their journey, and just barely escape, losing almost everything they had stolen. 10 year old Tatum O' Neal, as Addy, is wise beyond her years as O'Neal's crafty sidekick. She won an Oscar for her performance here, which was her film debut. Some say she stole the show. Ryan O' Neal, as Moses, has rarely been better. O'Neal, whose greatest fame came as a pretty face opposite Ali MacGraw in the mega-hit "Love Story," reached inside himself, delivering a strong, heartfelt performance. Young Tatem and Ryan together make a dynamite pair, that really carries the script. As they are father and daughter in real life, their relationship off screen, and their in-house family acting talent that they both had together explains partially the very entertaining result. The direction, by Peter Bogdanovich, is superb as well. The clever and well written script is full of fun dialogue and well sketched characters. Alvin Sargent did the scripting, based on the novel "Addie Pray," by Joe David Brown. Madeline Kahn is delightful as Trixie Delight, a cheap and vulgar woman that Ryan O'Neal gets involved with, when he rescues her from a carnival. My favorite scenes revolve around a scam, perfected by Addy, involving making change in stores. While not in the same league as "The Sting," it's a fun con nonetheless. If you enjoyed PAPER MOON you may like"What's Up Doc?," "The Sting," "Ocean's Eleven," and "Last Picture Show." |
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