Actor W. C. Fields observed that "Some contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch ... If a thing is worth having, it's worth cheating for." On the surface, "The Paper Store" is about cheating in the plagiarism of term papers. But at its heart, the film seeks to offer a broader slice of life of academe today.

Miss Annalee Monegan has a brilliant mind that she puts to use in writing papers for university students and charging a hefty fee. Mr. Sigurd Rossdale is also a gifted intellect who pays for Miss Monegan's services to get through required courses so that he can focus on his Masters thesis. The couple starts an unorthodox relationship that is stormy and lacks an emotional connection.

Mr. Marty Kane is the instructor who discovers the cheating when Miss Monegan turns in Mr. Rossdale after she feels betrayed by him. As a consequence, Miss Monegan is not punished for committing fraud, but promoted to teaching assistant while the instructor Mr. Kane pulls together his tenure dossier and only requires that Mr. Rossdale rewrite his papers.

The filmmakers failed to capture even the basics about tenure at a university. An adjunct like Mr. Kane would not be considered for tenure unless he spent five or six years on a tenure-track. And the tenure committee would not care about whether he was grading undergraduates too high or a graduate student too low. Such a committee could care less about teaching and would only be evaluating Mr. Kane's research dossier and publication record.

The strength of "The Paper Store" was in the well-crafted dialogue, especially the repartee between Miss Monegan and Mr. Rossdale. The interchanges were lively and served as a parody of the arcane theoretical jargon of a liberal arts course in film art. Some of the commentary about the films of David Cronenberg was so far-fetched that the heart of the discussion addressed abstract matters that Cronenberg would likely have never considered in his ghoulish yet imaginative films.

The three principal actors were outstanding in capturing the fluff of today's academic discourse. And the film was successful in raising the question about the true value of an education today. If their years spent in the academy were to have an intrinsic meaning to students' personal lives, it was not apparent in any of the students depicted in this film. As portrayed in the film's closing scenes, the only goal would appear to be a worthless diploma.

This film is as exciting as watching paint dry. I would rather have watched a science review of dung beetle mating. The film has no value, the cinematic release of the Flintstones Movie has more theatrical value.

The Paper Store is a rare look at academia in America. Narrator Stef Dawson, Annalee, is the smart ex student selling her ability to write college papers. Penn Badgley, Sigurd, hires her to write his entire 516 class so he can focus on his thesis. He doubles her price, and she takes on the course. And him. Both rattle on with film jargon non stop very lighthearted and not too insufferable. Both characters are unlikable, yet very realistic in ther sex and money problems. The narration is unreliable. The squabble over credit hours is spot on. Exploitation, manipulation, and education are topics covered in the rapid dialogue like foreplay. Richard Kind, Professor Marty Kane, let's the truth come out that student don't matter. He can't afford to have his TA bring C students up to A students. He would be let go. He has to have tenure at any price. David Cronenberg, The Simpsons, and Little Trees are brought up so if you want to enjoy this film brush up on some film studies' topics. The Paper Store is based on the play 516 by Katharine Clark Gray. She and her husband, Michael Gray, wrote the screenplay.