Paper Moon

My published Flavorpill post:
At first blush, the "bone structure" of Paper Moon seems common — list Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 piece under the put-wise road movie — but, my, how it blooms into something consummate. Ryan O'Neal plays Moses Pray, a Depression-era swindler persuaded to transport an orphan who might be his daughter; O'Neal's own, adorable Tatum (in an Oscar-claiming debut) personates the wily and willful nine-year-old. While the odometer tips upward, the endearing twosome become thick as thieves through increasingly risky get-rich schemes. Laszlo Kovacs' sharp black-and-white shots of Kansan skies and plains embellish this lovely joy ride, and Madeline Kahn appears midway as the bawdy delight who puts out like a gum machine.