Welcome to Queerty’s latest entry in our series, Queerantined: Daily Dose. Every weekday as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has us under quarantine, we’ll release a suggested bit of gloriously queer entertainment designed to keep you from getting stir crazy in the house. Each weekend, we will also suggest a binge-able title to keep you extra engaged.
The Perfection: Paper Moon
It saddens us that Tatum O’Neal‘s biggest headlines in recent memory came with her unplanned coming out. O’Neal rocked Hollywood in 2015 when she admitted to having a long-term romance with Rosie O’Donnell, and labeled herself a bisexual. While we’re grateful to count O’Neal among our ranks, her real acclaim should come from her remarkable talent.
Once upon a time, Ms. O’Neal wowed the world with her debut performance in Paper Moon, the 1973 comedy which pitted her opposite her real-life dad Ryan O’Neal and comedy genius Madeline Kahn. In the movie, O’Neal plays Addie, a spunky, chain-smoking grifter surviving the Great Depression on her own cunning. When she teams up with daddy Ryan’s traveling salesman/con-artist, the two head out on a spree of petty fencing and swindling, as comedy ensues.
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Quite simply, movies don’t get better than this. Ryan O’Neal and Kahn (who was nominated for an Oscar) both give memorable performances as a grifter and a rake, respectively, though the show belongs to young Tatum. She still remains the youngest person to ever win a competitive Oscar, and the most significant performance ever nominated in the supporting category. Director Peter Bogdanovich and production designer Polly Platt, who were married at the time, paint with gorgeous black & white photography and fill the edges of each deep-focus image with hilarious bits of business. Hilarious, crafted with technical perfection and unexpectedly moving at times, we can’t recommend Paper Moon enough.
Streams on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube & VUDU.
LumpyPillows
Good movie. Mamselle (sic) was a hoot.
moretruth
Huge Madeline Khan fan. Was great in Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, too. In Paper Moon, her deadpan “assistant” was great, too.
Brian
Ryan O’Neil was stunningly beautiful at that time. Too bad he turned out to be such a horrible person.
Goforit
I just watched it again about a month ago. It is just as good the 10th time as it is the 1st. Solid performances all around. Madeline Khan is a delight. (Trixie Delight)
Cam
Two more Amazing Khan movies
What’s up Doc (Also with O’Neil) and High Anxiety.
Matthewnow
She’s the best of the best!
Kangol2
It’s always a pleasure to see Paper Moon receive some attention. It is one of the funniest movies of its era and is still side-crackingly funny. Tatum O’Neal gives the performance of a lifetime as little Addie Mae, Ryan O’Neal is at his most attractive and charming as her quasi-father, and Madeline Kahn is the piece de la resistance as Ms. Trixie Delight. And don’t forget P. J. Johnson as Imogene, another great performance. Hollywood seems incapable of making a film this simple and unforgettable any more, but a lot of credit should go to the director, Peter Bogdanovich, who is a genius and had a brief, brilliant run with this film, The Last Picture Show (another masterpiece), and What’s Up Doc?, another gem. Watch this film if you haven’t seen it, and echoing Cam, see those other two Kahn films too. I’d add Blazing Saddles, which couldn’t be made today, and Young Frankenstein. They are fall-off-the-couch hilarious.
SiamSean
It’s twue, it’s twue!
peacefulruffneck
I watched it again a few weeks ago while reorganizing my DVD library and what a find!
Madeline Kahn was sheer genius as a comedian and Tatum O’Neal absolutely deserved that Oscar. My side still hurts from laughing. Especially from this exchange:
(Tatum O’Neal) “Imogene, what do you suppose Miss Trixie’d do if somebody offered her $25 to put out.”
(P.J. Johnson) “Ooo Wee. You crazy? For that much money, that woman’d drop her pants down in the middle of the road.”
P.J Johnson definitely does not get the credit she deserves. She was the perfect foil to Madeline Kahn and Tatum O’Neal.