Review of The Paperboy (2012) by Derek M — 23 Jan 2013

A bold and over-the-top plot, albeit delivered unevenly at times, which is then drawn to a boil and unfortunately, left to simmer. For every good or decent scene, there is an opposite and often polarizing scene to counter it, (which may sound like a plus for the film, but at times its a hindrance and makes the film seem uneven).

It sports a surprising cast that probably expected Oscar nominations given Daniels' success with "Precious", but Efron can't fake a southern accent to save his life, Cusack's character is only worried about getting his rocks off and Nicole Kidman plays a hot mess with little brains.

McConaughey was the lone bright spot in the film, though his character takes an odd turn as well. While the swamp and bayou landscape makes for an interesting setting, especially in the 1960s, the film never finds any sort of ground and never has much to say about the legal system its trying to buck, nor is there much racial tension like there was in the 60s American south.

Something about the film just leaves too much to be desired. The result is a muddled mess, like the show "Swamp People" crossed with the film, "The Life of David Gale" and given a southern splash of "Cape Fear".

Reviewed 1/22/13. Rated 2 out of 5.