‘Sometimes you can just smell a horrendously shitty day on the way, can’t you?‘
Hollywood loves a movie about the media even more than it loves a movie about itself. Spotlight, The Post, Network and on and on. The Paper follows that noble tradition and it should have been a slam dunk. Master director Ron Howard behind the camera (a year before he would wow everyone with Apollo 13). A prestigious cast (Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall etc). And yet…
Henry Hackett (Keaton) is torn between his pregnant wife and fellow journalist Martha (Marisa Tomei) and a big story that is breaking at the New York tabloid at which he works. His hardass editor (Duvall) has no sympathy. He clashes with his less idealistic co-worker Alica (Close). In fact, Henry’s only ally is opinion columnist Michael (Randy Quaid).
All the ingredients are here for a great movie. And while The Paper is definitely a good movie, it falls short of greatness, as reflected by the fact that it was ignored by the Academy. There is a lot here to enjoy for fans of Howard and ’90s cinema, however. Howard does a great job of capturing the chaos and camaraderie of the newsroom, and Keaton thrives in tight spaces. Duvall, who is fast becoming one of my favourite ever actors, is superb as ever, and Randy Quaid delivers a performance that serves as a timely reminder that he could be a great actor once upon a time. Minor roles for such luminaries as Catherine O’Hara and Jason Alexander add to the impressive ensemble cast, and in the end, it is only the writing that lets The Paper down. This was the only script ever produced by David Koepp and Stephen Koepp, and while the snappy dialogue is a lot of fun, the third act descends into sensationalism.
That being said, The Paper is never dull and while it won’t go down as Howard’s most accomplished work, there is still plenty here to recommend it. Not least a string of excellent performances from a talented and eclectic cast.