Find Movies & TV
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
Explore
Movies & TV Shows
Most Popular
Leaving Soon
Categories
Action
Animation
Comedy
Crime
Descriptive Audio
Documentary
Drama
En Español
Horror
Music
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Western
Explore
Browse Channels
Featured Channels
Stargate by MGM
Hallmark Movies & More
The First 48 by A&E
Categories
Hit TV
Drama TV
True Crime
Comedy
News
Sports
Reality
History & Science
Movies
Sci-Fi & Action
Classic TV
Food & Home
Lifestyle
Nature & Travel
Daytime TV
Game Shows
Kids & Family
Anime+
Chills & Thrills
International
En Español
Music
Sign In
The Paperboy
Directed by
Lee Daniels
R
2012
1h 46m
Drama
,
Thriller
,
and more
5.7
45%
33%
Watch Free
A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.
More
Cast of The Paperboy
Zac Efron
Jack Jansen
Matthew McConaughey
Ward Jansen
Nicole Kidman
Charlotte Bless
David Oyelowo
Yardley Acheman
Macy Gray
Anita / Narrator
John Cusack
Hillary Van Wetter
Scott Glenn
W.W. Jansen
Ned Bellamy
Tyree van Wetter
Nealla Gordon
Ellen Guthrie
Edrick Browne
Hustler #1
Kevin Waterman
Victim
Danny Hanemann
Sheriff Thurmond Call
Peter Murnik
Death Row Guard
John P. Fertitta
Sam Ellison
Jay Oliver
Mr. Guthrie / Wedding Guest
Gary Clarke
Weldon Pine
Ava Bogle
Renee / Nail Biter
Adam Sibley
Eugene
J.D. Evermore
Gate Guard
Phyllis Montana LeBlanc
Bartender
Nicole Barré
Charlotte Girlfriend #2
Camille Balsamo
Pam / Beach Girl #1
Leslie Hippensteel
Kim / Beach Girl #2
Grace Hightower
Yardley's Girlfriend
Lorrie Chilcoat
Wedding Singer
Faizon Love
Comedian
Stiggidy Steve
Hustler #3
Rahsaana Ison
Lady in Bar
Katarzyna Wolejnio
Jennifer
Nikolette Noel
Nancy
Corrina Lyons
Cousin Alice
Lee Daniels
Bartender / Director / Writer / Producer
Peter Dexter
Writer
Hilary Shor
Producer
Avi Lerner
Producer
Ed Cathell III
Producer
Cassian Elwes
Producer
The Paperboy Ratings & Reviews
Nicholas Florio
June 27, 2025
This was a great movie. . Sad and a little messy with the story line at times but it was a great movie.
Alex Cooke
January 9, 2025
Outstanding performances by Effron, Cusack and McConaughey.
Shadow and Act
Judi Jordan
If you like that freaky, perverted feeling of spying on an even bigger freak show, you will find this film both fascinating and horrible to watch.
National Newspaper Publishers Association
Dwight Brown
[Daniels] can't find his directorial bearings.
Bitch Media
Monica Castillo
The Paperboy is not all bad, but it isn't all good either. I'm not quite sure what Daniels wanted his audience to walk away with.
Film Comment Magazine
Violet Lucca
I'll just get it out of the way now: The Paperboy is unbelievably awful.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Despite all its garish accoutrements and salacious underpinnings, The Paperboy can be a hoot to watch.
Newsday
Rafer Guzman
"The Paperboy" is one of those rare examples where you might wish the movie was less faithful to the book.
Denver Post
Lisa Kennedy
Yes, it's a dizzying stew set to boil.
Seattle Times
Moira MacDonald
It's a movie that seems to have a mild form of heatstroke: it's blurry, as if filmed long ago, and feverish, and the story wanders all over the place as if lost in a bayou. When it's over, you want to wipe your brow.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
The Paperboy is over-the-top every which way you look.
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
This is just the sort of movie certain people are hoping to see when they go to the movies but would never say they go to the movies for.
The New Yorker
David Denby
It's a good story about people who are not what they seem, about identity wavering in the heat-a true swamp tale-but the movie is messily ineffective.
leonardmaltin.com
Leonard Maltin
It's not coincidental that the climactic portion of this film takes place in a swamp. That also seems to be where the meandering screenplay was fashioned.
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
The entire cast of "The Paperboy" glistens with a golden sheen, as if they've been sprayed with Pam cooking oil.
New York Post
Kyle Smith
'The Paperboy" can't decide whether to be an unfunny sex comedy, a half-hearted detective story or a woeful race drama - so it decides to be all three ...
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
The movie is definitely a mess.
Los Angeles Times
Betsy Sharkey
There is so much grit in Kidman and McConaughey's performances, it's a lot for Efron to stand up to, but he does a good job of giving Jack a cocky innocence that is disarming.
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Daniels' deft adaptation of Pete Dexter's 1996 novel is even more disturbing on screen than on the page. It's a Southern Gothic noir thriller with a terrific ensemble cast.
NPR
Scott Tobias
Some of The Paperboy's missteps would be forgivable if Daniels delivered them with any conviction, but he doesn't seem capable of it.
Watch The Paperboy Videos
The Paperboy
The Paperboy
Trailer
Anita And Ward
Anita And Ward
Scene
Meeting Hilary
Meeting Hilary
Scene
Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations
Scene
Charlotte Meets The Paperboys
Charlotte Meets The Paperboys
Scene
Take Plex everywhere
Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
