Amazon.com video review:
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
