Thirty-one years ago, director Ron Howard presented a vivid portrayal of the controlled chaos inherent in the newspaper industry with his New York-centric dramedy, ironically titled The Paper. Unlike the recent Peacock series of the same name, which captures the light-hearted absurdity of office life, the 1994 film offers a gripping 24-hour narrative. It stars Michael Keaton as a high-strung editor navigating rising tensions while striving for accuracy on an important news story. The film effectively tackles multiple angles of a tabloid publication, from the dedicated reporters in the office to the managing editors embroiled in corporate politics. Critics widely praised The Paper, earning it an impressive 89% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.

With an all-star ensemble cast featuring Marisa Tomei, Glenn Close, and Robert Duvall, The Paper stands out not only as one of Howard’s most underrated directorial efforts but also as a genuine throwback to the Hawksian comedies of the 1930s and 40s. The narrative follows the staff writers and editors at the fictional New York Sun, focusing on metro editor Henry Hackett (Keaton), who is faced with multiple crises of conscience. He is deeply drawn into the story of two African American teens arrested for the murder of two white businessmen in Brooklyn, a case that Sun columnist Michael McDougal (Randy Quaid) suspects involves innocent parties.

Concurrently, Henry grapples with personal pressures. His pregnant wife, Martha (Tomei), urges him to consider a more stable opportunity at a rival publication, the New York Sentinel, which would help him avoid the personal tolls observed in his editor-in-chief, Bernie White (Duvall), who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Utilizing every resource and personnel available at the Sun, Henry races against the deadline to uncover the truth of the murder case. However, new information surfaces that corroborates the teens’ innocence, putting Henry’s job on the line as he must prevent the original, guilt-presuming version of the story from hitting the streets. This escalating conflict leads to an intense showdown with the Sun’s self-centered managing editor, Alicia Clark (Close).

The Paper marked the last of three collaborations between Howard and star Keaton. Their previous cinematic endeavors, Night Shift and Gung Ho, leaned heavily into comedic slants, depicting the farcical hijinks of turning a city morgue into an escort service and international conflict within an auto factory, respectively. In contrast, The Paper represented their most mature collaboration, distinguished by the Oscar-caliber talent involved and its poignant social commentary. The film courageously addresses a story of black teenagers wrongly accused of a crime, hinting at a police cover-up. Unlike procedural dramas such as All the President’s Men or even Keaton's later news drama Spotlight, which depict journalists tirelessly pursuing the truth, The Paper offers a 'fly-on-the-wall' glimpse into how journalists sometimes choose the most sensational aspects of a story, twisting it for newspaper sales, even at the potential expense of innocent lives.

Beyond its messaging on journalistic integrity, powerfully conveyed through Keaton’s performance as a tabloid editor, The Paper achieves a perfect tone. It skillfully blends high tension with trivial humor, amplified by Howard’s constantly fluid camerawork. Whether it’s Quaid firing a gun in the office to ensure a private conversation between Keaton and Tomei, or Keaton losing his composure during a phone call with a rival paper's owner, the heightened reality of each scene mirrors the fast-paced environment of news outlets. This style also echoes a more nuanced take on classic screwball comedies like His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story. The seamless integration of witty, high-brow humor and high-stakes drama is powerfully demonstrated in the film’s most memorable sequence: a wild, physical, and unnecessarily bloody fight between Keaton and Close over Henry’s desperate efforts to stop the next day’s edition from going to print. This scene is significant not just for its action, but for what lies beneath the surface: the profound power struggle between reporting the truth and generating profit, often regardless of moral consequences.

The Paper is an underrated gem in Ron Howard’s career because it tells a simple, down-to-earth story, akin to Parenthood, and deliberately eschews the epic scale seen in his works like Backdraft, Apollo 13, or Solo: A Star Wars Story. No single star outshines the rest; instead, the ensemble cast effectively portrays their respective characters living in a closed environment fraught with both personal and professional complications. While Howard’s docu-style approach to the film might not translate to a satire like the Peacock sitcom, its chaotic 24-hour narrative style and the relentless pressure on its characters find an almost unintentional echo in more recent films like Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night.

Released on March 18, 1994, The Paper has a runtime of 112 minutes. It was directed by Ron Howard and written by David Koepp and Stephen Koepp. The main cast includes Michael Keaton as Henry Hackett, Robert Duvall as Bernie White, Glenn Close as Alicia Clark, and Marisa Tomei as Martha Hackett.