The Paper
— Beyond 90 minutes, this journo movie is pressed for time.”
- Director: Ron Howard
- United States, 1994
As a screenwriter David Koepp has been around. He’s written some terrific scripts and some not so terrific. His work on The Paper, alongside brother Stephen, manages to reach both extremes.
Suddenly put in charge while chasing a big story, workaholic newspaper editor Michael Keaton is forced to choose between the job and his wife, whilst his colleague and adversary Glenn Close must choose between printing the truth and her professional envy dressed up as the economics of a late print run. All that drama, and it’s a comedy!
A terrific script and energetic acting bumps us through the first 90 minutes or so with only a few lingering issues, notably the woeful underuse and probable miscasting of the delectable Marisa Tomei. Then it all goes horribly wrong: the overwrought denouement is steeped in typically Howardian sentimentality and mediocrity creeps in to spoil the fun.
See also:
Shaun of the Dead
Genre parodies based on the smalltown nature of little England. It’s becoming a whole subgenre unto itself.
- Originally published: 8 Jul 2007 in Film
Midnight Run
Novelty is always welcome and here’s a buddy cop road movie in which the protagonists hate each other!
- Originally published: 17 Feb 2007 in Film
Ghostbusters
Unique, ridiculous and the first great movie I ever saw at a cinéma.
- Originally published: 27 Nov 2006 in Film
Borat
It’s sexy time: Sacha Baron Cohen’s bumbling reporter bursts onto the big screen.
- Originally published: 25 Mar 2007 in Film
The Darjeeling Limited
Riveting rail movie: terrific casting and a sparkling script make this an enjoyable passage to India.
- Originally published: 3 Dec 2007 in Film
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Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.
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I'm originally from Yorkshire, England but nowadays I live in Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is Black Albert.
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