Paper Moon (1973)

[SinjinSB]

Paper Moon (1973) - ***1/2 (Out of 4)
In recent years, there have been countless movies about conmen. And there have been plenty of movies about fathers in questionable occupations that are reunited with their daughters. But this movie's simplicity has them all beat. Maybe because Ryan and Tatum O'Neal are also real life father and daughter, it's easy to believe them in this movie. This was Tatum's first movie and she deservedly won the Oscar for it...the youngest person to win an Academy Award. Filmed in black & white, this film had a good look. Along with an appropriate soundtrack made it easy to believe it was back in the 1930's.

[Johann]

I agree with your choice of Paper Moon as a classic.

Tatum is a little firecracker. That scene with her smoking a ciggie is wild.
Children with that kind of intelligence scare the shit out of me.

Dakota Fanning is cut from that cloth...

Bogdanovich should be acknowledged as more than just a coattail rider of auteurs. He can direct a mean film.

[Frank56]

My favorite exchange from this film happens between Addie and Miss Trixie Delight's maid:

"You know that kinda white that's on a chicken doodle?"

"Yeah"

"That's the kinda white Miss Trixie is...."

[wpqx]

I always prefer this and What's Up Doc? over The Last Picture Show. Maybe O'Neal and Bogdanovich worked better together, but he excelled at comedy. Maybe I need to see the Last Picture Show again, but perhaps I am right. Anyways I think I'm repeating myself. I agree that the conmen story was nothing new, and I wasn't exactly thrilled at the premise when I heard it, but man it sure won me over. Madeline Kahn again proves she's a genius here as well. Also worth checking out from Bogdanovich is Targets, his first real film. A great meditation on violence, that is more and more timely as the years go by, also the last great performance by the brilliant Boris Karloff.
p.s. stay away from Daisy Miller (EUUUGGHHH!!!)