cult film freak: THE PAPER CHASE

Written by James M. Tate / 3/30/2011 / No comments / drama , james naughton , john houseman , seventies , timothy bottoms

THE PAPER CHASE

3/30/2011 | No comment

year: 1974
cast: Timothy Bottoms, John Houseman
rating: **1/2

Any scenes involving Timothy Bottoms and fellow law students in a big lecture hall dealing with strict professor John Houseman (who won an Oscar), is terrific. And scenes with Bottoms and pals in the claustrophobic dorm, working to keep sane in a study group despite the progressing angst derived from their classroom experience, are okay. But when Lindsay Wagner is introduced way too quick (and easy) as a love interest, things go by the wayside: the banal dialog overriding what's really important, and what this film should have dealt with entirely: a battle of wits between the young students and the aged professor. Everything else leads the witness to a daytime soap, and not a very good one.

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Tags : drama , james naughton , john houseman , seventies , timothy bottoms

James M. Tate

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