Nicholas C Alvarez If you haven't, seen it watch it. Everything in this movie is masterfully done including a cameo from the Urban Legend that is Randy Quaid

dougdoepke Plot-- A small-time con-man agrees to escort a 10-year old orphaned girl to her aunt's house in 1930's rural Kansas. But on the way, the challenges mount. So how did they transfer a 50-year old brain into 10-year old Addy's head. And did they have little actress O'Neal swallow a lemon before every scene. Just count her smiles, one finger will do. Well, whatever they did, it's a moppet performance unlike any I've seen. Great movie! The period re-creation strikes me as spot on, between the flivvers, dusty open roads, and pop 30's songs. All backdrop a tricky story that features a grown man getting a little girl started in a life of crime. Even selling phony, over-priced Bibles to widows, no less. Of course, it's not violent crime, but still. Anyway, the story's fashioned in such a charming way, you hardly notice. Then again, will Addy ever find out if Mose is her real daddy or not. And how about Madeline Kahn's chirpy bimbo, with a small bladder, no less. What a loss she was to the world of comedy.Good thing that headman Bogdanovich took Orson Welles' advice and filmed in b&w. I can't imagine the same period results in Technicolor. Anyway, the various parts come together in rich fashion, both amusing and poignant. And despite some critics, Tatum really did deserve an Oscar. I just hope she's found a lot to smile about in the meantime. Watching the movie, I certainly did.

gizmomogwai Two years after The Last Picture Show (1971), a sophisticated drama, Peter Bogdanovich gives us another black and white period piece. But Paper Moon is something else, a hybrid of crime comedy and maybe a family drama. It starts with 9-year-old Addie at her mother's funeral, where she meets a friend of her mother, the con man Moses Pray. Moze gets $200 for Addie in compensation for her mom's death, then blows half of it on a new car for himself. The film begins to pick up and become very funny when the little girl demands her money back, showing herself worldly and forceful for her age- likely a product of being raised by a "loose" woman. Addie also suspects Moze may be her dad, which he denies- after a long pause, indicating he either knows he is or believes it's possible.What we have from here is an unusual (maybe) father-daughter story, in which the two bond, but never in a sweet and sugary way. They don't get sentimental- instead, she picks up Moze's tricks and joins in the fun, making his con jobs more equitable by sparing the impoverished and getting more out of the rich. They're on the wrong side of the law, but in their own way, each does have scruples. In the end, Addie is offered a sweet and sugary life in a comfortable home- and doesn't want it, because she prefers life with Moze, because she isn't perfect and doesn't want perfect, and the audience can feel that's who she is and can understand.Paper Moon slows down a little in the middle, when Madeline Kahn comes into the picture and Moze and Addie mess with a bootlegger. But in my view, the big payoff comes when they're arrested and pull off an extremely clumsy escape. It's a good laugh, and adds to Paper Moon's many charms.

SnoopyStyle Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal) is at her mother's burial. Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal) shows up and is persuaded to deliver her to her aunt in Missouri. Moses is a con man who dated Addie's mother and is possibly her father. He get $200 for her death but uses half to fix his own car. She demands to get the full $200 and he reluctantly agrees to earn the money to give her. They travel on the road where Addie learns Moses' con tricks. They pick up carnival dancer Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn) at one stop. At another, they con the wrong bootlegger and is hunted by Sheriff Hardin (John Hillerman).The stark black and white visual by Peter Bogdanovich is beautiful. There is a little bit of violence, a good dose of desperation and a large amount of plucky little girl acting. It's an appealing mixture. The fact that Tatum was an amateur does show but it actually adds to her performance. There is an earnestness about it and the chemistry is terrific.