Zac Efron is once again putting distance between him and the Magic Kingdom's High School Musical series by spending about half his time in this film's title role walking around in his underwear.

And Zac has some real heavyweight talent in this film to support him. He plays the younger of two sons, the elder being Matthew McConaughey, of Scott Glenn who runs the local paper in one of the Florida panhandle Dixie counties. Zac who was a champion swimmer in college, but got kicked out of school now is a glorified paper boy as he drives the delivery truck in the early morning hours for distribution.

McConaughey comes home with colleague David Oyelowo from the Miami Herald and they are a team investigating the conviction of peckerwood John Cusack of shooting the local sheriff. Cusack is on death row having been convicted at trial. But he like so many prisoners gets himself a pen pal in white trash Nicole Kidman who has interested the Miami Herald in the case.

The film is told in flashback by Macy Gray who was the maid in Scott Glenn's house and saw it all and presumably heard a few details from Efron. A whole lot of secrets about all the principal players come out before the end of the film.

The best performance in the film is that of British actor Oyelowo who maintains the accent for most of the film and at the end does a good job in imitating southern black dialect. That's his secret and he's got knowledge of another secret and him imparting that to Efron is the high point of the film.

Although all the players give some good performances and in David Oyelowo a great one, the material itself is mundane, mediocre and borders on trashy. Unless you want to see Zac in his tighty whiteys or are fans of others the cast, I'd hesitate before seeing it.

Like MUD, THE PAPERBOY is another overrated Matthew McConaughey film filled to the brim with detestable characters working their way through a godawful storyline. This one's an increasingly lurid fable about a group of scuzzy characters, racial hatred, a psychotic criminal, and the reporters who are hot on the trail of a murderer. It has potential, yes, but as with so many overrated Hollywood films today, that potential is wasted.

THE PAPERBOY has no look and feel of its own. It just exists in a kind of familiar simplicity, with all of the material feeling passé and rather weak. As seems to be the normal these days (cf. KILLER JOE),the filmmakers thrown in some sleazy stuff involving urination and a set-piece scene which copies and tries to outdo the infamous Sharon Stone leg-crossing scene in BASIC INSTINCT although it comes across as desperate and classless by comparison.

As for the cast, well, you're not in for much here. An increasingly disgusting Nicole Kidman is completely unconvincing as always, and McConaughey is so wooden that he doesn't even seem to be present in his own film. Zac Efron is out of his depth and you just want to punch his smug face in, and only John Cusack has any effectiveness, playing against type. Overall this is a real mess and a waste for time for the viewer.

It's the 60s South Florida. Anita Chester (Macy Gray) is the maid in the Jansen household and retells the events. Reporter brother Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) returns home with his London friend Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo) to investigate the murder of local sheriff Thurmond Call by Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack) who is now on death row. Ward doesn't approve of the death penalty and Jack Jansen (Zac Efron) tags along as the driver. Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) has been writing Hillary in jail and tries to help the investigation.

Macy Gray is off-putting as the maid. It's a supporting role but she starts the movie on the wrong foot. I really don't like her voice or her narration. It distracts from the story. Zac Efron seems lost in this movie although his character is a little lost. David Oyelowo lacks any screen presence. He's no Sydney Poitier especially with every white person doing a double take and calling him boy. Nicole Kidman is going full-on white trash. This is a movie where Nicole Kidman has taken over the whole story. It's almost incidental as to what this movie is actually about. John Cusack is also playing big as the racist white trash. Matthew McConaughey tries his best to be the straight man in a rambling mess, but this movie is lost in all the mannerisms. The murder mystery matters little.