This film sort of disappeared much like the similarly themed Clint Eastwood film TRUE CRIME from the public consciousness though both remain startlingly relevant to the ongoing racialized crime reporting system in America. What both films didn't anticipate is much of a sense of the social outrage in how things can become inverted in the public eye when the police get video'd making arrests that go bad. Both these films cover innocent black suspects wrongfully arrested but both at different stages of their incarceration. Both films center more on a crusading reporter on a search for justice against a time table while facing a major flaw in their life (Eastwood cheating on his wife vs. Keaton's workoholism) vs the actual crime.
Compared with TRUE CRIME, THE PAPER is a decidedly lighter weight affair. Keaton's approach to his character comes off as aloof as usual and many of his coworkers (domineering Glenn Close and sloppy Randy Quaid) feel a little more on the verge of cartoon characters. Robert Duvall pops by with some engaging scene stealing as Keaton's boss (much like James Woods in TRUE CRIME) but he ultimately doesn't lead to much with his side plot. The story also relies heavily on some strange coincidences to propel its plot. What makes it slightly superior though I think is that it has a little more of a sense of realism and immediacy. Things get goofy and unwravel near the ending, but not quite the degree that TRUE CRIME does. Here they do so in the name of comedy, but none of it lands I think because vast stretches of the film go by with no humor at all. It's basically Ron Howard's version of a Robert Altman movie.
All in all, I'd say give this one a look for the performances and as a window into the fading world of newspaper editing. Unfortunately it's merely a 'good' film when it really could have been great.
Compared with TRUE CRIME, THE PAPER is a decidedly lighter weight affair. Keaton's approach to his character comes off as aloof as usual and many of his coworkers (domineering Glenn Close and sloppy Randy Quaid) feel a little more on the verge of cartoon characters. Robert Duvall pops by with some engaging scene stealing as Keaton's boss (much like James Woods in TRUE CRIME) but he ultimately doesn't lead to much with his side plot. The story also relies heavily on some strange coincidences to propel its plot. What makes it slightly superior though I think is that it has a little more of a sense of realism and immediacy. Things get goofy and unwravel near the ending, but not quite the degree that TRUE CRIME does. Here they do so in the name of comedy, but none of it lands I think because vast stretches of the film go by with no humor at all. It's basically Ron Howard's version of a Robert Altman movie.
All in all, I'd say give this one a look for the performances and as a window into the fading world of newspaper editing. Unfortunately it's merely a 'good' film when it really could have been great.