CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

fung0 I'm entirely mystified by the low ratings for what is perhaps Ron Howard's best film. Apollo 13 is more spectacular, true enough. But The Paper is a greater rarity, a 'small' story, spectacularly well done.I've seen this film numerous times - but to do so, I had to buy it on DVD from the UK, because no proper North American edition existed. Even as I write this (September 2016), there's STILL only a cropped full-screen DVD at Amazon.com, and no Blu-ray. Incredible, considering that Ron Howard is (I think rather undeservedly) considered one of Hollywood's top directors.The Paper starts with a brilliant script, by veteran writers David and Stephen Koepp. They absolutely nail all the plot points along several beautifully intertwining story arcs: Michael Keaton trying to land a big story, his wife having a baby, his editor trying to reconcile with an alienated daughter, and a cocky columnist feuding with the city's parking commissioner. Amazingly, these threads all tie up.Ron Howard, not usually the most flamboyant director, does a terrific job of pacing the film. He also uses a subtle but superb approach to filming the newsroom scenes, keeping the camera floating around the cubicles, creating a sense of the perpetual state of urgency imposed by a daily deadline.All the performances are terrific. Michael Keaton is funny, angry, emotionally conflicted. Marisa Tomei is charming and spunky as usual. Duvall is perfect as the grizzled editor. Glenn Close is suitably vile as the villain. And Randy Quaid delivers yet another unheralded mini-masterpiece, as an outspoken columnist... with a gun.If this film had been made in the 1940s, it would have starred Clark Gable and Jean Arthur and would have been directed by Howard Hawks. And today it would be regarded as a classic. For some reason, instead, The Paper has been nearly forgotten by everyone.The Paper is flatly one of the best films about the newspaper business, and quite simply an almost perfect film in every sense. It doesn't tackle big philosophical issues (much) - but what it does, it does as well as any film has ever done. It's funny, exciting, emotionally intense and utterly satisfying. I enjoy and appreciate its unexpected depths more with each viewing.See this film any way you can - short of purchasing the abominable pan-and-scan DVD.

bh_tafe3 Knowing a lot of other journalists, I can assure readers I was not alone in watching this 1994 Ron Howard film and thinking "that's what I wanna do!" Looking at this as someone who's worked at newspapers both small and big, and recently back to small again there are scenes in this that perfectly capture the base insanity of those who catch the journalism bug. It's a strange profession. When you are in a groove and rolling there is no job like it. The diversity and breadth of people you meet, stories you cover and publications you have the opportunity to work for are simply incredible. When you are in a rut and struggling to string two paragraphs together, it can be the very definition of hell.The film belongs to Michael Keaton, who is having the type of day that anyone who's been in the job for more than a few months can relate to. He has the story, knows what really happened, but is banging his head against a brick wall looking for someone to confirm it. I love that I recognize some of the other characters in this. The guy with the comfy seat, the guy who wants to know if "there's a better word for....," the frustrated boos who just wants you to get to the damned editorial meeting on time, and the cynical secretary "you're honest, ethical and I want you out of this building." And it is that editorial meeting which captures the actual process so well.There are so many great actors and performances in this movie. Glenn Close as a woman in what was then a man's world (three of my first four editors were female so it's less so now, but city papers definitely have a ways to go), trying to be taken seriously, Randy Quaid as a typically useless columnist. Marissa Tomeii as a pregnant woman who really can't handle taking time off from the job (which reminds me of many a colleague who would make their way to the office as far into their pregnancy as 9 months).This is a comedy first and foremost, and so it has license to go over the top, but Keaton's journey, apart from punching his editor in the face in the final scene, is entirely authentic for anyone who's ever felt that frustration of having a story written and ready to go and trying desperately to get confirmation without which it can't be printed. "I need it! Right. Now! TO. NIGHT!" I guess if you worked in saner papers than the ones I have (I hold out hope that somewhere there are some) or have never worked in a paper before, some of the stuff in this may come across as odd, but I loved watching it when I was young and was shocked to find how close to reality some of this was. There's a reason why they play the editorial meeting scene from this film in first year university media classes. Of course not all of it rings true, and some of it is just plain naïve, but it tries. Just sit back and enjoy a fun, engaging and at some points, accurate, look at a profession like no other. Enjoy a superb performance from Michael Keaton supported by a fully functioning ensemble. The Paper isn't a perfect story, but would make Page One most days.

DICK STEEL I've been to a newsroom only twice in my life. First, it's to collect some lucky draw winnings, and I had a sneak peek into the hustle and bustle of a newsroom from behind a glass panel. The next one was more up close and personal, because a journalist friend brought me right up to his desk (and an incredibly piled up one at that), and I had first hand view of how news got made. Or at least it seemed that the next day's articles were done up because there were few people left in the office, and there was a group huddled at one corner.Ron Howard's The Paper was one of those films that I didn't catch at the cinemas (at that time, the teenage me only recognized Michael Keaton of his 1989 Batman and 1992 Batman Returns fame), and missed a number of scheduled telecast and re-runs on television. So it's no surprise that I snapped up the DVD the minute I saw it in the discount bins at the store. And I wonder just why the heck it took me so long to get down to watching this, with no regrets (save for the technical aspect of the presentation).Keaton plays a Henry Hackett, a sub-editor for a small time tabloid in New York. Being a go-getting workaholic, he often puts his family life aside, which of course puts his very pregnant wife Martha (Marisa Tomei) under a lot of stress especially with her pregnancies woes, and not being able to get out there and do stuff. For their financial stability, one of the many subplots here involves her getting Henry a job interview at a larger paper, The Sentinel, and threatens him not to sabotage his own opportunities for advancement, which we learnt that he does so quite frequently in order to stay where he is.And it's not rocket science why too, as the bunch of folks he's working with is really madcap, and I think I too can thrive in such as a stressful, chaotic, but totally livewire environment. Each character presents a separate subplot which intertwines with Henry's life, and in one scene which I was totally mesmerized with, was when everyone dropped by Henry's office, and it went just off the hook. Wonderful stuff there, especially when you have Glenn Close as a rival sub-editor who happens to be the office bicycle (erm, that means everyone had had a ride), Robert Duvall as an ailing editor stricken with cancer and trying to reconcile with his estranged daughter, and Randy Quaid in a totally hilarious role as the bummer in the office.All these while the team had to debate with the front page story for the next day, centered on reporting what's accurate and doing what's right – the social responsibility in being a paper, with pressure on them because they had missed the previous day's scoop. Everyone's preoccupied with their own personal agenda, set against an office where the air-conditioner isn't working and driving temperatures and tempers up. It's work and family over a period of 24 hours, and I felt that this film had a story that ranks itself up there with other films that deal with their narratives over the same time period.You'd have come to expect a certain assured standard from director Ron Howard, and this film demonstrates nothing less. Everything naturally comes together perfectly toward the end like the birth of a new dawn, with relationships bruised but not battered, and what I also enjoyed here was John Seale's superb cinematography which had this extremely fluid motion when bringing us in and around a newsroom for that office tour each time we run around like crazy with Henry. The paper would be one of my personal favourites, and my only regret (besides the technical aspects of the DVD) was why it had taken me this long to uncover this gem of an enjoyable film.

Jackson Booth-Millard Directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code) and with an all-star cast, it was impossible for me not to give this comedy drama film a go, and I am so glad I did. Basically, it is 24 hours in the life of an ailing tabloid, with Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) the editor of the New York Sun, he is a workaholic who loves his job, but at the same time he is struggling to keep up with life with his pregnant wife Martha (Marisa Tomei). Also in the building are publisher/editor-in-chief Bernie White (Robert Duvall) facing financial problems and putting work first instead of family, and Henry's nemesis, managing editor Alicia Clark (Glenn Close) who is planning cutbacks, telling him to consider leaving the New York Sun to be managing editor for the New York Sentinel. The big story on this day is the murder of two white businessman in a race-related killing, and two black brothers passing by are the suspects wrongly jailed. It is when Henry wants a source, he stole the name of, to tell him the truth about the brothers' guilt that the film really gets gripping. He needs a good picture of the brothers, he needs the quote from the source himself, and most important, he needs to change the article that they will release, so he needs to stop the presses! Alicia is not prepared to stop them, and says they will run the innocence story the next day, and she and Henry have an aggressive fight to get to the stop button, but even after Henry has stopped it, she fires him and they restart. Thankfully though she realises her mistake, but a gun shot in the local bar stops her finishing the phone call, and at the same time, Henry's wife is going to hemorrhage, needing anaesthetic for the baby, but don't worry, all problems are solved in the end. Also starring Randy Quaid as Michael McDougal, Jason Robards as Graham Keighley, Jason Alexander as Marion Sandusky, Spalding Gray as Paul Bladden, Catherine O'Hara as Susan, Lynne Thigpen as Janet and Clint Howard (Ron's brother) as Ray Blaisch. I will admit it didn't grip me for the first 20 or so minutes, but after this, it is a engaging and absorbing film all the way. With wisecracking dialogue, well cast actors, especially Keaton and Close, and fantastic manipulative moments, it grips you so much, you are desperate your prediction of events will be right. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Song for Randy Newman's "Make Up Your Mind". Very good!