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18 reviews in total

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Cute and funny, 31 October 2002
Author: Natasha (forever_immature) from Melbourne Australia

I love this movie and how could you not when Hugh Jackman stars in it!!!

Whilst the storyline is predictable, it provides a humourous look at friendship which blossoms into love, something we've all dreamed about.

This is definately one movie us Aussies can be proud to show the world, it displays some of this nations best talent with Claudia Karvan and Hugh Jackman.

A movie everyone should see for a laugh and some heartwarming!

I give it 9.5 out of 10

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
An Australian gem!, 4 April 1999
Author: Leigh (lrh23@hotmail.com)

The film "Paperback Hero" is the latest Australian film to make it's way overseas. Starring Claudia Karvan and Hugh Jackman, "Paperback Hero" will delight anyone who enjoys a good romantic comedy.

Karvan and Jackman are well known in Australia, Karvan as a film actress and Jackman as a musical theatre actor. Both are well cast in their roles as a brash, independent pilot (Karvan) and a novel writing truck driver (Jackman).

The storyline is simple but entertaining. Ruby Vale (Karvan) and Jack Willis (Jackman) live in a small outback Australian town. Jack writes romance novels while working as a truck driver. Embarrassed about his hobby, he uses Ruby's name when he sends his novel to a publisher. It becomes very complicated when the novel is accepted for publication and Jack must convince Ruby to help him.

The film is very Australian, but will not in any way alienate overseas viewers. The movie was mainly filmed in rural Queensland and makes the most of the outback landscape. The Australian accent is not exaggerated (a pet hate of mine).

Give this film a go if you are a fan of romantic comedies. The Australian film industry is producing quality work and "Paperback Hero" is an example of this.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Sunny Kiss, 28 March 1999
Author: Steve Baker (s.baker@iig.com.au) from Cairns Australia

The acronym K.I.S.S., meaning Keep It Simple Stupid came to my challenged mind while I watched Paperback Hero, the latest Aussie film on show.

And this isn't a criticism of the film. Paperback Hero is simple. It's a pleasurable comedy romance which stars Aussie would be pin up Hugh Jackman and the always loveable Claudia Karvan. It is kept simple, especially the style of acting, and that's its charm.

The plot isn't complicated by anything much more complicated than a smiling dog. Paperback Hero is sweet and unaffected just as films should be, every now and then.

Jack in Paperback Hero has written a women's novel but being a tough truckie doesn't want to put his name to the book. He uses his old mate Ruby Vales name (Claudia Karvan) but doesn't tell her.

Australian bush comedies often end up being somewhat embarrassing lampoonings of our precious heritage. Paperback Hero has stock bush pub characters but somehow manages to avoid making them seem ridiculous even if the film is a comedy.

A lightness of touch from new director Antony Bowman allows Paperback Hero to exhibit our more strident rural identities without causing a cringe. He should have a good handle on the plot though. He apparently wrote the novel upon which the film is based.

The language is often colourful but is uttered in the natural way we know is correct. The plot does get a bit fuzzy, especially with regards to Ziggy, but that's more than compensated for by big natural smiles from two very appealing lead actors.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Wonderful Movie!, 19 October 2000

Author: playingtrix (playingtrix@ivillage.com) from Toronto, Canada

This is a great, sweet movie. Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan are wonderful in this lighthearted, funny, romantic film. I loved the fact that the two main characters in this movie do not follow the stereotypes for their genders and yet both characters still seem real. The friendship between Jack and Ruby is wonderful and I think it's great to see characters who are friends before they become romantically involved.

A simple but very entertaining film that I will watch again and again.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Typical, but heart warming romantic comedy!, 16 October 2002

Author: lady_of_atlantis_dk (lady_of_atlantis_dk@hotmail.com) from Aalborg, Denmark

Well, finally I have had the pleasure of watching "Paperback Hero", and I like this movie a lot. At first some of the characters may seem a little superficial and stereotypical, but soon you'll learn that there is a lot more to all of them than what first meets the eye, and the actors are all doing a great job in making the complexity of their individual personalities shine through. The story is cute over all, and the movie holds some great laughs as well. Paperback Hero is one of your typical romantic comedies, but it leaves you with a warm, happy feeling inside!

I have rated this movie 9 of 10.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
The second viewing was even better!, 7 July 2002
Author: Tim Johnson from Fremantle, Australia

Paperback Hero was repeated last night on TV and having watched it last night after seeing it at the cinema years ago when it was first released my wife and I found ourselves enjoying it even more than we did the first time around.

I found Bowman's direction to be particularly compatible with the script he had written: the way in which he composed the camera shots, the pace in which the film unrolled as well as the composition of each scene which left this viewer lingering over each segment rather than mindlessly being rushed through as so often happens with Hollywood fare.

Other commentators have written that they found Bowman's script ragged in spots and I'm sure this is a very valid comment but I was carried along to such an extent by the movie's visuals and by the totality of what was happening on the screen that I didn't notice whether or not the script was seamlessly unrolling.

If you haven't seen this film you owe it to yourself to do so-if you have seen it you owe it to yourself to see it again.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Simple pleasure, 9 February 2004

Author: Bob Highland (bobhighland@email.com) from Sydney, Australia

While this is not Romeo and Juliet, neither is anything else, except for Romeo and Juliet. (And, if I dare speak the heresy, it seems to me that even with that august work, for those of us who are not English Lit graduates the enjoyment would be enhanced if 'twere rendered into more accessible English, without losing the rhythm).

Finally, an Australian filmmaker has (largely) resisted the temptation to portray rural Australians as cardboard Bruces and Sheilas that say 'fair dinkum' and call each other 'cobber' with thick, fabricated accents, a too-common tendency that has held the otherwise sophisticated local film industry back for years.

This is a simple enough romantic tale of boy/girl finding each other - after the catalyst of being thrown together through circumstance lets them break through the barrier of friendship - and it is a movie that is hard not to like. If it does not move you greatly, it should at least cheer you up.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Awesom Movie of the Aussie Outback!!, 9 September 1999
Author: Jane Fenton (Jane-43) from Australia

This is a fantastic movie and is very special to me and lot of my friends as the pub used in the movie is the "Nindi Gully" Pub, in outback Queensland, where we spend New Years Eve most years, the place comes alive with the roaring utes and New Year spirits! I think this movie is a great romantic comedy- the actors did a superb performance and it wasn't like all those other Australian movies which make us look bad, sound bad and have no tact. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a good laugh. A great movie and a credit to Australia.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A refreshing setting for an 'old' story that's entertaining, 13 December 1999

Author: geralf from Ventura, CA

A refreshing setting for an 'old' story that's entertaining and well done! The 'downunder' folks have done a fine job on this 'old' theme that makes it well worth watching. Inspite of the 'jaded' reviews of certain folks, after watching movies and thinking about them for nearly 60 years, I'd say that this is one well worth a 2nd or even third watch. Definitely worth your time, if you are inclined to have some romantic fibers still firing.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Paperback Hero, 20 February 2005

Author: (rtucker@gwi.net) from United States

Paperback Hero has become one of my favorite movies. I watch it over and over and never tire of it. Of course having Hugh Jackman play Jack sure doesn't hurt. Claudia Karvan is perfect as Ruby. In a world filled with negative events, having this peek at Australian talent fills me with a sense of well being. I love each and every character and love how this story isn't "Hollywoodized". The characters are real but best of all it is about truth and love. The spark between Hugh J and Claudia K on screen is rare. It is the stuff romantics like me dream on. I want more.

Nancy from Maine/USA

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