Review of The Paperboy (2012) by Amelia B — 23 Jan 2013

I suppose I could find some redeemable qualities about this film if I tried, but I won't. Take away the star-studded cast (I don't mean you, Ephron) and you are left with a story that makes up for its superficiality with a handful of shocking scenes -- scenes that I wish I could get out of my head, but that were so overblown and gratuitous that, like some recurring nightmare, I had to keep reminding myself that it's just a movie.

In between the shock and awe, the film crawled along on pace-killers and awkward narrative from Macy Gray, then completely unraveled into one string of southern clichés like swamp people and Antebellum accents (c'mon, McConaughey-hey, youz from East Texas!).

After repeatedly asking myself, "Where is this film going?" I wish I had not stuck around to find out. At the end, the only realization is that this film is more depressing than a refugee camp.