Most critics warm to Paper Moon, and the praise clusters in the same places. Several call it a cynical charmer, a Depression-era comedy whose affection for its two leads stops the bleaker material from taking over. Tatum O’Neal’s debut draws the strongest notices, described as sensational and mesmerising, and Madeline Kahn is singled out alongside her. Laszlo Kovacs’s black-and-white photography is credited with giving the road journey its affectionate sheen, and more than one review notes the blend of Hawksian comedy and Fordian lyricism.
The reservations are faint. Time Out finds it charming and not too sentimental, which is approval with the brakes on. The spread runs from a four-star notice to full marks from The Skinny, which calls the film perfect and sweet. Two of the seven reviews, from The New York Times and RogerEbert.com, cannot be read in full, so their verdicts are unconfirmed and the consensus really rests on five voices.