Synopsis
As investigative reporter Ward Jansen and his partner Yardley Acheman chase a sensational, career-making story with the help of Ward's younger brother Jack and sultry death-row groupie Charlotte Bless, the pair tries to prove violent swamp-dweller Hillary Van Wetter was framed for the murder of a corrupt local sheriff.
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Cast
- Zac EfronJack Jansen
- Matthew McConaugheyWard Jansen
- Nicole KidmanCharlotte Bless
- David OyelowoYardley Acheman
- Macy GrayAnita / Narrator
- John CusackHillary Van Wetter
- Scott GlennW.W. Jansen
- Ned BellamyTyree van Wetter
- Nealla GordonEllen Guthrie
- Edrick BrowneHustler #1
Recommendations
- 80
The Guardian
Nicole Kidman gives her best performance since "To Die For." - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
In the spirit of the venture, the entire cast gets down and comes off all the better for it. Both Efron and McConaughey get very messed up physically, and both actors seem stimulated to be playing such flawed characters. - 70
Time
All the actors rise or bend to the challenge, giving juicy performances and seemingly having a fine old time. - 70
Village Voice
When not contriving to get Efron out of his clothes, The Paperboy gropes for familiar movie language of its period setting: Soul music swells up excitedly over a jumble of jerky zooms, befuddling cuts, and spatial vagueness. But sometimes hot messiness has its charms. - 70
Boxoffice Magazine
This is a curio that demands to be seen. - 67
Entertainment Weekly
Much of what happens in The Paperboy is so luridly bizarre you can't quite believe what you're seeing. - 50
Slant Magazine
The Paperboy deserves to be seen for its pulpy, well-executed excess, but as a filmmaker, Lee Daniels seems ignorant of how the shocks distract from the story. - 40
Time Out
The problem is that the filmmaker brings D-grade craft to these B-movie exertions, making his florid maximalism more entertaining to talk about than endure - despite the best efforts of his ardently slumming A-list cast.
