The Paperboy Review

I didn't know anything about The Paperboy going into it. I was really only seeing it because Nicole Kidman was nominated for a Golden Globe, and I make a point of seeing as many of the nominees as humanly possible. 

The movie follows the story of Jack (Efron), though the story to me was really about his brother Ward (McConaughey). It follows Ward, a newspaper writer, and his journey to prove an imprisoned man's, Hilary (Cusack), innocence. He recruits Hilary's lover, Charlotte (Kidman) to help him with his research. On paper this sounds like a great plot. It could have made for a great crime thriller with Ward uncovering clues to further his investigation, almost like The Lincoln Lawyer (2011). Instead, this movie focused more on Jack his unrequited love for Charlotte.  

To say this movie is poorly written would be an understatement. I felt nothing for any of these characters and openly hated some of the leads. The entire story felt so one note to me and didn't have any peaks and valleys to make the audience care about anything going on. Even the climax towards the end of the film didn't elicit a single emotion from me. I know this was based off of a book, which makes me wonder if the book was this bad, or if it was just a really poor adapted screenplay. I really hope it is the latter, because if the book was really this bad, it shouldn't have been adapted into a movie. 

Some might say that the most redeeming quality of this film is Kidman's performance as Charlotte, which I could definitely agree with. But I think that McConaughey's much more nuanced performance as Ward was much more effective to me. He was the lead and driving force of this entire film. I wish he had been featured way more than Efron, to maybe enhance the quality of this film. 

The one genuinely amazing thing that did come out of this movie happened about halfway into the film. I'm sure most of you won't see the movie, so I have no problem spoiling this phenomenal (albeit pointless) plot point. I don't know how to phrase it other than: Kidman pees on Efron. Yes, you heard me correctly. It is the greatest thing ever put to film, and really sums up perfectly the level of acting talent that Kidman has over Efron. Oh, then Cusack rapes her later, which is unquestionably the most awkward part of the movie. 

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Overall, I would not suggest seeing this movie, unless you really want to see Zac Efron literally get pissed on. Other than that, it has a couple of inspired performance in what is a lackluster film. 

Writing: 3/10

Directing: 4.5/10

Acting: 7/10

Pacing:  5/10

Rewatchability: 3/10

Score: 4.5/10