I liked the look of this so settled down to watch it but after it had ended I felt pretty conflicted about the parts I liked and what I didn't like about it.
The next thing I did was look up the book that it was based on. It turns out there are 2 books telling Juanita's story, book one is Dancing On the Edge Of the Roof and book two is On The Right Side Of A Dream, both by Sheila Williams. This explains why Juanita's ending is not very satisfying, it turns out she has more adventures to be told and a return to Paper Moon. Perhaps there will be a second movie to finish the story.
Alfre Woodard is a wonderful actress and an extremely attractive older woman but after reading the notes on the book I realised she is way too old for the part. Juanita is 41 years old, Alfre is 66 years old (even though she does look a lot younger) and she is 20 years older than Adam Beach who plays Jess. I know this wouldn't bother a lot of people but it bothered me.
It made me laugh that she called her fantasy lover by his full name every time she imagined him and I am a big fan of movies that break the fourth wall. I love it when the characters tell us directly what they are feeling or thinking.
She seemed to spend no time at all in Paper Moon, that went over too quickly without being convincing about how she forges close relationships with the residents.
I'm off to see if I can find copies of the books and read more of Juanita's story. I think I will find them more fulfilling than the movie.
