Genuine and good comedy is hard to come by, especially in one that is rated PG and not for vulgar adult audiences. Based on the 1971 novel ‘Addie Pray’, by Joe David Brown, Peter Bogdanovich’s film Paper Moon (1973) tells the story of Addie Loggins a young orphan who is thrown into the hands of a travelling con-artist. Paper Moon uniquely stands out against other classic films from the same year, such as The Exorcist, and American Graffiti. A darker portrayal of the similar ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ duo is Badlands (1973), which premiered several months after Paper Moon. While both films share similar themes and concepts Paper Moon depicts a loveable, but unlikely, father-daughter criminal duo whose humour and wit is stark against its darker counterpart.
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Paper Moon describes an era that is filled with rich and easily conned people, but not so much of the poor, impoverished or even the down-right intelligent. While the film doesn’t explicitly say it’s set during the 1930s, the con-artist, ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ trope of the thirties does. Another clue to the inconsistencies of time and place is the role money plays within the film; as money is easily scammed, and a lot of money is being swindled from businesses and widows that is inconsistent with the actual period. While Moses drives a Jalopy and Addie listened to radio shows, the actual time period itself is barely represented throughout the film. Unless a nine year old Addie smoking cigarettes is what truly represents the harsh realities of the time; even then Moses didn’t approve of that either. However, Paper Moon is not a representation of reality, nor is it meant to be, but rather it’s supposed to be a light-hearted comedy and sometimes that is all a movie is meant to be. If an audience expects Paper Moon to be a historically accurate film, then they will definitely be very surprised if they see Elizabeth (1998) or Everest (2015) both based on actual events. Emphasis on
Paper Moon describes an era that is filled with rich and easily conned people, but not so much of the poor, impoverished or even the down-right intelligent. While the film doesn’t explicitly say it’s set during the 1930s, the con-artist, ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ trope of the thirties does. Another clue to the inconsistencies of time and place is the role money plays within the film; as money is easily scammed, and a lot of money is being swindled from businesses and widows that is inconsistent with the actual period. While Moses drives a Jalopy and Addie listened to radio shows, the actual time period itself is barely represented throughout the film. Unless a nine year old Addie smoking cigarettes is what truly represents the harsh realities of the time; even then Moses didn’t approve of that either. However, Paper Moon is not a representation of reality, nor is it meant to be, but rather it’s supposed to be a light-hearted comedy and sometimes that is all a movie is meant to be. If an audience expects Paper Moon to be a historically accurate film, then they will definitely be very surprised if they see Elizabeth (1998) or Everest (2015) both based on actual events. Emphasis on