Paper Moon

You all know I think the world of Peter Bogdanovich, so I was thrilled when this finally came out on DVD, plus that it had three documentary shorts included. Before he started directing, he was an actor, and it shows in how good an interviewee he is for these documentaries. (His description of Orson Welles telling him what to do about the title of the film is a hoot.) It's not a hugely deep film or anything -- an orphaned girl travels with a friend of her mother's to Missouri and teaches him a thing or two about how to perfect his cons. Besides being sparklingly filmed in black and white, and using lots of lengthy shots and unique stunt scenes, it's a joy to watch the two O'Neal's acting together. Tatum got the Oscar because she's the perfect grouchy smart-as-a-whip tomboy who under that tough exterior is yearning to be loved. The ending should leave you smiling for a few hours.

year: 1973
length: 102 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070510/combined