The Paper
Chad'z rating: *** (out of 4 = good)
1994, R, 112 minutes [1 hour, 52 minutes]
[lighthearted drama/comedy]
starring: Michael Keaton (Henry Hackett), Robert Duvall (Bernie White), Glenn Close (Alicia Clark), Marisa Tomei (Martha Hackett), Randy Quaid (McDougal), produced by Brain Grazer, Frederick Zollo, written by David and Stephen Koepp, directed by Ron Howard.
We'd like to think that the "real" media has a much higher standard of quality and ethics than sensationalistic tabloids, but "The Paper" proves they really don't. The media is a business just like everything else, and they'll do whatever it takes to make more money and sell more papers.
The story revolves around Henry Hackett (Keaton), the Metro editor for "The Sun," a New York tabloid newspaper. It's not the most elite publication in the world, but it is respected and has good production values, yet Henry wants to move on to the "New York Sentinel."
We learn a lot about the paper through Henry, and we learn a lot about Henry through the paper. He is an important editor under a lot of stress, working long hours and making sure things get done. Back home, his wife Martha (Tomei) is pregnant with their first child and she feels he is ignoring her and their marriage is suffering because of his work. But at the same time, his work is suffering from his marriage. It's a no-win situation and this goes to show just how stressful jobs in the media can be. I'm sure some of this is exaggerated for characterization, but Howard plays upon it in such a way as to make it believable without going over the top.
There are some other interesting characters here: Bernie (Duvall), the generic editor-in-chief, (has there ever been an editor-in-chief who wasn't divorced, balding, and a strict?); Alicia (Close), another editor who is constantly trying to one-up Henry; and McDougal (Quaid), the 30-something slacker who somehow has fantastic connections. The characters might not be anything special, and that's fine with me because it makes the story more sympathetic.
The sub-plot of the film involves a supposedly race-related murder of two white businessmen. All the other papers get the scoop on this story except for The Sun, and this becomes their driving force: to finally beat everyone else. We follow Henry and McDougal and learn how a paper operates in the process.
The underlying theme here is truth as "If it's wrong we'll print the exclusive that it was wrong tomorrow, but for now we go with this" can constantly be heard in the background. Henry seems to be one of the last people who has some kind of values and would rather have the truth be known even if it means selling fewer papers.
The last act involves Henry and Alicia fighting over what story should be the front page catch, will it be either a headline that is wrong but will not be known to the public, or will it be the truth? And if the truth should be published, it will take a lot of effort and production time to do it, which is more expensive. The fact this is even questioned is depressing in a way. Our news may depend upon two people's personal disputes?
Still, "The Paper" is a good film and it certainly is interesting to watch the production of a newspaper and see how a story is portrayed through the storyteller.
e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com (C) 1997 Chad Polenz
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