'

The Paper

Play trailer

The Paper

R

Released Mar 18, 1994

1h 50m

Drama

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) is an editor at the New York Sun, a tabloid paper facing financial cuts. His pregnant wife, Martha (Marisa Tomei), pleads with him to get a more respectable job so he can spend more time with his family. Hackett is considering an offer from another paper, with fewer hours and higher pay, when he gets his hottest story in years. When this scoop leads to a burst of violence and a conflict with his new boss, Alicia (Glenn Close), he faces a startling moment of truth.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Fast and frenetic, The Paper captures the energy of the newsroom thanks to its cast and director on first-rate form.

Read Critics Reviews

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

The inside-baseball feel of the newsroom material (co-writer Stephen Koepp did time in the trenches) is what makes 'The Paper' sing.

May 3, 2016

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: 4/5

Sep 30, 2004

Full Review

Jeff Simon

Buffalo News

A smart and entertaining movie, not an important one.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 29, 2024

Full Review

Eleanor O'Sullivan

Asbury Park Press (NJ)

A brilliantly brittle and funny movie about a New York tabloid.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 29, 2024

Full Review

Akos Peterbencze

Vulnerable Man (Medium)

Ron Howard’s film is full of cynical and arrogant humor. But at its core, it conveys what it means to be a journalist.

Jul 22, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Anne C

One of my all time favourite films- it is fast, energetic and hilarious. Michael Keaton is perfect and Glenn Close is superb. I rewatch more than almost any other film. Always delivers for me.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

Full Review

thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/25

Full Review

Raymond C

Thoroughly enjoy a high pace film that checks all the boxes. These are classics that need to be remembered and enjoyed.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/22/25

Full Review

Andy V

Loved it - just watched in 2024 a full 30 YEARS after it was released and I was left thinking, Man they don't make em like this anymore, so good....perhaps it was the great acting, story telling and directing. ONE CHANGE I WOULD HAVE MADE: My only issue was at the ending - I didn't think (*spoiler*) Henry's reaction to the headlines was realistic enough, I mean my eyeballs would have been jumping out of their sockets because for all he knew up until that point it was Gotcha....so Ron: it would be a little more realistic if, when Henry enters the hospital room, Martha doesn't hold up the paper with the headline, but instead is just all smiles like she was, and only after he has a warm embrace with her and kisses her, etc...does he see the paper (maybe on the floor) and then Holy Crap! Whaaa....???!! And you see his face reflect for 2 seconds and you know he's thinking like what must have gotten into Alicia for her to turn that around...shrugs...like oh well, that was yesterday... and then gets into the bed with Martha and we see the clock, etc and listening to the news headlines. Ahhhhh. But what a movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/14/24

Full Review

Horror fan 4

Great performances all around. I really thought Keaton's performance was the standout. Ron Howards direction was superb. Timothy Treakle

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/17/24

Full Review

Burt R

A disappointing ineffective use of an extraordinary cast, except for Clint Howard who was outstanding in the role of featured context character.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/14/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ron Howard

Director

Michael Keaton

Henry Hackett, Metro Editor New York Sun

Glenn Close

Alicia Clark, Managing Editor New York Sun

Robert Duvall

Bernie White, Editor New York Sun

Marisa Tomei

Martha Hackett

Randy Quaid

Michael McDougal

The Chamber

13%

39%

The Chamber

Watchlist

Clockers

75%

74%

Clockers

Watchlist

Inventing the Abbotts

37%

51%

Inventing the Abbotts

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Inventing the Abbotts

One True Thing

87%

71%

One True Thing

Watchlist

Jungle Fever

80%

67%

Jungle Fever

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Rank Michael Keaton’s 10 Best Movies

Rank Marisa Tomei’s 10 Best Movies

Definitive Ron Howard Movies

View more photos

Synopsis

Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) is an editor at the New York Sun, a tabloid paper facing financial cuts. His pregnant wife, Martha (Marisa Tomei), pleads with him to get a more respectable job so he can spend more time with his family. Hackett is considering an offer from another paper, with fewer hours and higher pay, when he gets his hottest story in years. When this scoop leads to a burst of violence and a conflict with his new boss, Alicia (Glenn Close), he faces a startling moment of truth.

Director: Ron Howard
Producer: Brian Grazer, Frederick Zollo
Screenwriter: David Koepp, Stephen Koepp
Distributor: Argentina Video Home, Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 28, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $36.6M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Stereo, DTS

Most Popular at Home Now