Mar. 09, 2004 - 9:50 pm
it's amazing sometimes how people find my diary. they go to google or alltheweb or some other search engine and they type in things like "sting instrument oscars", "watership down deus ex machina", or "jimmy stewart buttons clown." pretty freaky to see that the things i'm talking about will at some point interest someone. maybe in some way i've even helped people with some small bit of film research that they're working on. i sincerely hope so. and mom would love the fact that i sometimes get people arriving at entries because of Patrick McGoohan searches (including the all too common search Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow).
i've had the urge over the past year or two (albeit faint) to see this movie, starring the youngest ever Oscar winner, Tatum O'Neal. she's the little girl who stars in this film with her real life father Ryan O'Neal. both amazing actors. you'll hopefully remember Ryan O'Neal from Love Story (1970) and i just came to the realization that he also played the lead role in Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975). i can't believe i didn't realize that previously. you won't remember Tatum O'Neal from anything else probably. she later went on to marry and then divorce tennis great John McEnroe. (although she has actually been in some other movies. even recently.)
in Paper Moon, a little girl is temporarily given into custody to a man who comes to her mother's funeral and happens to be going in the right direction to drop her off at her aunt's home in Missouri. he is most likely her father, but will not admit to it and doesn't even really want her to be with him. he begrudgingly hangs on to her and she soon realizes that he is a very talented conman. she begins to realize her own talent for the trade and a bond begins to grow between the two as they take their road trip to her new home.
i really enjoyed the Madeline Kahn section of this movie. actually i enjoyed all aspects of this movie. but the Madeline Kahn part was hilarious. when she goes up on the hill to coax Addie down and just keeps falling, at one point yelling "SON OF A BITCH!" while still trying to maintain her "ladylike" composure, that bit had me rolling. excellent, Madeline was also nominated for Best Supporting actress in 1974 (losing of course to Tatum O'Neal). i really didn't like Madeline Kahn before this movie, but it's a very endearing role and i think that this movie has helped me to find an appreciation for her.
the father daughter relationship in the film is wonderful. i'm sure it doesn't hurt that the actors were actually a father and daughter in real life, but they pulled it off extraordinarily well. i've already told my mom that this made me think of her and her appreciation for the To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) relationship between Atticus and Scout. it's just as strong in this movie, but with a sort of less "completely moral" slant. actually it moves quite a bit off to the side of being a moral movie. this movie's all heart and i loved every minute of it.
oh, and i know we're all still wondering hoping and praying that i'll find the answer to this question... during the performance of "You Will Be My Ain True Love", Sting was playing an instrument called a "hurdy-gurdy" and you can read about it here.