Another week, another Michael Keaton film.
I don’t try to hide the fact that I’m a big Michael Keaton fan. For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed watching Keaton on the big screen. Perhaps my affinity for him comes from the fact that he’s from my hometown, Pittsburgh. He started his career working on “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” at WQED in Pittsburgh before making it big in Hollywood.
I met Keaton once at the Pittsburgh International Airport while we were waiting at the luggage carousel. In case you were wondering, I did muster up the courage to say hello and ask for an autograph, which I still have. Unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence of the meeting — how I wish we had cell phones back then!
Over the years, Keaton has taken on a myriad of roles. His signature film is probably 1989’s “Batman.” But playing the caped crusader is just one of Keaton’s memorable roles. He’s starred in hits such as “Mr. Mom,” “Beetlejuice” and “Clean and Sober.” More recently, he starred in “Birdman,” which captured a Best Picture Oscar.
In today’s “Throwback Thursday,” I decided to write about one of Keaton’s more underrated roles — journalist Henry Hackett in 1994’s “The Paper.”
Hackett is the metro editor of The Sun, a daily newspaper in New York City. The Ron Howard film covers a 24-hour span with Hackett as the central figure. The film opens with two Black teens coming out of a diner in the city, only to discover two white men shot dead in their car. The vehicle is also riddled with bullet holes and covered in racial slurs.
We first see Hackett asleep in his work clothes in bed with his very pregnant wife, Marty (Marisa Tomei). Hackett’s alarm goes off at 7 a.m. — and the day begins. Howard does a masterful job cramming 24 hours of action into a two-hour film. We quickly see just how chaotic Hackett’s life is. He must deal with overbearing managing editor Alicia Clark (Glenn Close) and a crotchety editor-in-chief, Bernie White (Robert Duvall).
Throughout the film, Hackett butts heads with Clark. They argue throughout the day about what story should get the front page. Clark wants to run a subway derailment on page one, while Hackett wants to run a story about the two Black teens who were arrested and wrongly accused in the murder of the businessmen.
“The Paper” truly features an all-star lineup. In addition to Keaton, Tomei, Close and Duvall, Randy Quaid is spectacular as columnist Michael McDougal, while Jason Robards and Jason Alexander have bit roles. Robards plays publisher Graham Keighley, while Alexander plays city employee Marion Sandusky.
It’s hard to categorize “The Paper.” It feels like a drama, though there are funny scenes, most involving Hackett and McDougal.
What I enjoy most about “The Paper” is how it portrays life at a daily newspaper. As anyone who works in journalism will tell you, there are many characters just like the ones in the film throughout newsrooms in America. For the most part, the film holds up well over time, though it probably couldn’t be made today. There’s no mention of the internet, Twitter, Facebook or Google analytics, which is somewhat refreshing.
There are some flaws in “The Paper.” For example, Hackett is faced with an early-evening deadline. The film is set in the summer, so one assumes there would be baseball in New York City. How, exactly, is a New York newspaper going to press in 1994 without coverage from the Mets or Yankees game? There’s also a dramatic scene where they stop the presses. Having been in a pressroom, I can tell you that it’s not so dramatic.
All in all, though, “The Paper” is a fun ride and a quick trip to the not-so-distant past when newspapers reigned supreme. Ah, the good ol’ days.
“The Paper” is rated R for frequent use of the F-word — realistic newsroom stuff. It is available on Peacock (Xfinity) and Amazon Prime Video.
