I've never been able to see Ron Howard as a director. It's not that I still picture him as Opie Taylor or Richie Cunningham, it's more that I see him as someone going through the motions. Whether he's working on a period epic ("Far and Away"), a serious drama ("Backdraft"), a lightweight comedy ("Gung Ho") or a special effects-laden fantasy ("Willow"), he seems to know the mechanics of the craft but not the inspiration which propels a film to greatness. He can choreograph a scene to perfection, but doesn't know how to instill it with the spark necessary for a memorable moment. "The Paper", his latest effort, still suffers from this weakness. All of the events in the film occur within a single 24-hour period.
Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) works for a smallish New York newspaper called the Sun. Their latest story revolves around two black youths who are implicated in the apparently racially-motivated murder of a white businessman. Henry's wife, Marty (Marisa Tomei), is very pregnant but eager to get back on the job with her husband once her maternity leave is over. Marty shares with Henry her belief that the day they have just embarked upon will be a special one. And so it is, mostly for Henry himself.
In addition to fending off his wife's not completely irrational fears, Henry has a number of things going on this day. First of all he has nagging doubts about the veracity of their headline story and Alicia Clark (Glenn Close), the assistant editor, is constantly butting heads with him. Secondly, his office has now become home to a gun-toting, paranoid reporter (Randy Quaid) who believes that the Parking Commissioner (Jason Alexander) is out to kill him for what he wrote in a recent column. Next there's the job interview at a rival, but more prestigious, newspaper. And finally, there's the newspaper's deadline which gets pushed back more times than I could remember, and the extra expense involved each time.
Part comedy, part drama "The Paper" is just too busy for its own good. Subplots, such as the Sun's editor (Robert Duvall) meeting up with his estranged daughter, are sloppily handled and only further jumble an already crowded film. To be fair, the film is actually good fun for a while and only really bogs down during the last third. Without giving anything away, I will mention that during third last third a major character goes through a major change of heart that is incredibly difficult to buy. That old reality twister named Hollywood claims another victim.
"The Paper", despite everything I've said, does have its moments. It may not thrill or amaze you, but it won't bore you either. It may be just entertaining enough to satisfy those who would like an insider's look at the newspaper business. It may not be a bad film, but to paraphrase an oft-quoted observation, "the blueprint for a good movie is not the same as a good movie".