Paper Moon
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 9, 1973 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Tatum O’Neal creates a character out of thin air, makes us watch her every moment and literally makes the movie work. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Snappy patter reigns again, but by letting the story develop in open spaces rather than through tight edits, Bogdanovich fosters an atmosphere of freedom and promise. Read full review
88
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Ryan O'Neal is a con man and Tatum O'Neal is the foundling who may or may not be his daughter. Though their relationship is conventionally drawn, it has a heart that Bogdanovich hasn't been able to recapture. Read full review
80
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Modern cynicism and efficient acting hold the potential mushiness at bay, and the pair's picaresque odyssey through the Kansas dustbowl, during which they vie for control over their increasingly bizarre partnership, is admirably served by Laszlo Kovacs' marvellous monochrome camerawork. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Bogdanovich's warmest film, featuring charming performances from real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Read full review
70
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Ryan O'Neal stars as a likeable con artist in the Depression midwest, and his real-life daughter, Tatum O'Neal, is outstanding as his nine-year-old partner in flim-flam. Read full review
50
TimeJay Cocks
It is very fussy about period detail, and goes to some length to evoke the dim days of Depression America, while just about everything else is left to slide. Read full review
50
The New York TimesVincent Canby
Peter Bogdanovich and his screenwriter, Alvin Sargent, who adapted Joe David Brown's novel, have set out to make a bittersweet comedy that is both in the style of thirties movies and about the thirties. They evoke the time (1936) and the place (rural Kansas and Missouri) so convincingly that their rather sweet formula story seems completely inadequate, even fraudulent. Read full review
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