Review of The Paperboy (2012) by Mitch H — 22 Apr 2013

After seeing that this film was critically panned and not popular with audiences I had very little hope. In fact, I accidentally received it from Netflix after I forgot to update my queue. So with all that said, I watched this movie really wanting to hate it, but.

.. I must admit I loved it. The critics said it was trashy, campy and melodramatic, but I actually couldn't disagree more. I found the characters to be authentic, original, visceral and entertaining.

Being raised in the south, several of these characters are unfortunately very familiar. Maybe some aspects exaggerated... but hell we are watching a movie. Who wants to see 106 minutes of normal people? Not me.

If I do I'll just go to the park. Each chapter of this film kept me on my toes by continually surprising me all the way to its conclusion. This film yields a powerful cast who delivered stellar performances.

Shocking to me was the quality of Zac Efron's portrayal of Jack Johnson, a scarred coming-of-age 20 year old. This and his performance in "Liberal Arts" have really pointed his career trajectory skyward.

I highly recommend this dark... dirty... dingy... disgusting Indie Drama, but warn it's not for the faint of heart. A few issues with the script leave it at -- 8/10.