Paperback Hero
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
The film follows the adventures of a truck driver, Jack Willis, from rural Australia after he writes a bestselling novel. Being embarrassed by its romantic content, he uses the name of his female friend as a pen name. When a publisher decides to take the author "Ruby Vale" on, he is suddenly faced with a problem. He tells his friend that he has used her name, and initially, she wants to tell the publisher the truth. However, Jack and the publisher convince her by telling her that they will organise her wedding, (she is marrying Jack's best friend, Hamish) and so, Ruby is convinced.
Ruby and Jack then go to Sydney together, so that she can gain the book some more publicity. On the way, Ruby reads his book and finds that the lead female character is herself, and the main male character, Brian, is Jack. She is significantly touched by his book, even crying when she reads of Brian's death. The next few days go smoothly, although Ruby often voices her opinion that Jack should get the credit for writing such a story.
Things turn sour however, when the publisher finds out that Jack is indeed the author, but tells Jack not to let Ruby know. He doesn't, and that night the couple kiss after another publicity event. Hamish comes to Sydney, as he knows that Jack is the author, and tells Ruby, just before she is about to go on a satellite feed through to London, that he will stay for as long as it takes him to have a drink. That, coupled with the eventual knowledge that he knows who the real author is, sends Ruby back to Hamish and back to her rural hometown.
Jack does not follow her, instead staying and eventually making up his mind on what to do. While watching the T.V. in the local cafe, she hears Jack's voice on it. She finds that he has let the world know that he is the real author of the novel.
Soon after this, Hamish breaks up with her, knowing that she really loves Jack. As Ruby is wiping away the tears and driving home, she sees a plane flying overhead, spelling the words, "I love you". She stops her car, and the plane lands in front of her. Jack hops out, and after some gentle sparring of words, they kiss and the story ends.

Review: 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.
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..
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.
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 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.
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..
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..
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..
Awesom Movie of the Aussie Outback!!.
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..
(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.
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.
Paperback Hero has become one of my favorite movies.
Of course having Hugh Jackman play Jack sure doesn't hurt.
Claudia Karvan is perfect as Ruby.
The characters are real but best of all it is about truth and love.
A wonderful romantic comedy movie, full of satire and unresolved emotions.
If you've ever spent a decent amount of time in the outback of Australia where the bull dust covers everything and the road trains take 5 blocks to park, then you'll understand the humour in this movie.
If you've never even seen Australia then you'll probably have a hard time keeping up, and you may not find it humorous at all, as most of the humour is very outback Aussie (as opposed to city Aussie - there's a difference, ya know) - although British viewers may enjoy the humour as well.Hugh Jackman plays a believable (and gorgeous) truckie in Outback Oz somewhere out the back of Woop Woop.
Claudia Karvan as Ruby is a believable sheila who happens to fly planes, as well as own the name Hugh's character put on his book.If you really want to see what the Aussie Outback is like, make sure you take note of all the story background including the characters.
Lots of fun for Romantic Aussies :)))).
Charming duo make this movie worth a look but it lacks punch..
An early romantic comedy starring a younger but incredible charming Hugh Jackman.
Then there is the beautiful Claudia Karvan who is equally charming and comedic as well.
The story of a truck driver writing romantic trash novels but who is afraid of coming out with this activity seems strong in potential.
The focus is on how the character of Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan interact with each other and how they supposedly can't be with each other.
I really wanted to like this movie - it was a cute little aussie yarn about a truck driver (Jackman) who writes trashy romance novels under his friend's (Karvan) name, who have to travel to Sydney to promote his first book, where they fall in love.
Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan was very good together, but they fit together so well they seemed more like brother and sister than friends falling in love.
Sometimes it's good to watch a film that tells a simple story well, has characters who are all decent human beings, has actors who play those characters straightforwardly and sympathetically, and doesn't take itself too seriously.
Australia has only a small film industry by world standards, and it suffers from the fact that when anyone of real talent emerges, he or she is invariably whisked off to the dollars of Hollywood very rapidly, so that most of our best people, not only actors but directors and all the others who work to make a film, don't make films in Australia.
It's therefore a welcome surprise when an Australian film turns out to be good.
The idea of a truck driver writing Mills and Boon romances is interesting in itself; the enlisting of a local girl to "front" for the real author is a predictable but acceptable nest step: and the romance that slowly but surely emerges out of the background to take over towards the end is also predictable but very nicely and gently done.The film didn't make much of a public stir when it was released, in fact I don't recall it in cinemas at all.
It was in this film that I discovered Hugh Jackman.
I saw "Paperback Hero" at a film festival in Los Angeles and promptly fell in love.
While he hasn't reached that stature, he's done some good films and made his mark on Broadway in "The Boy from Oz," which I'm pleased to say I saw.
He is an awesome performer.Hugh's great charisma and sexiness helps this light story of a macho male who has been writing romance novels under a pseudonym and convinces a woman friend to impersonate him.
The film was done in Australia so it's quite interesting as far as the setting and the other actors.I'm not sure if this film received widespread distribution here in the states, but it is delightful..
Jack is a trucker in the Australian outback who makes regular stops in the outback café where Ruby Vale hangs out.
Ruby is engaged to Jack's best mate.
Things get complicated when a publisher comes to the outback café to see the author and Jack has to explain that he has written a romantic novel and used to name to hide his identity.
However the time together puts Ruby's  engagement under threat.I watched this mostly because Hugh Jackman's new found status as a star brought it to my attention.
The plot is quite good and has a reasonable amount of potential but the film doesn't really manage to do very much with it.
It lacks a spark in the film as a whole to really get it going.Jackman is part of the spark and has a certain amount of charisma but he isn't enough to bring the film to life.
The concealment of the truth in the first half is quite good but the romance and more serious tone in the second half is a lot heavier and doesn't totally work.
Karvan is quite feisty and does well but her and Jackman don't have the necessary type of chemistry  they hit it off as a knockabout pair but not in the romantic sense.The film has a certain charm to it but it didn't really do anything for me other than pass the time.
It's hard to define but it seemed lacking in some humour, some genuine romance and a relationship that I really wanted to get behind.
I absolutely love this movie!
This was the film time I saw Hugh Jackman, and I've been hooked since then...on this movie AND on Hugh Jackman!
This remains one of my favorite Hugh Jackman films and also one of my favorite movies.
A very Australian film full of beautiful scenery and a equally beautiful plot with a twist that keeps you guessing whats next and on the edge of your seat.
You forget its a film and feel your there in the dusty sands of Australia, wanting to stick your hand out and help the plot along, or maybe even alter it and rewrite this film of love passion and the battle of stereotypes; but before you do be patient.
Hugh Jackman gives the performance of his career yet, full of charisma and obviously at home in the role, in this feel good factor film that will have you finishing the film feeling on top of the world and a thousand feet taller.
This is yet again another great Australian film that you will never forget or cease to watch..
Some of the best qualities of Australian film-making are demonstrated in this great film.
Watching this film I get happy and emotionally moved at the same time.
I have enjoyed Claudia Karvan in other films and in her TV work but I had no idea of how great an actress she really is.
I saw this movie about half a year ago on the television.
I'll admit, the reason I saw this was of course the gorgeous Hugh Jackman - and he did not disappoint!
I was on exchange in Sydney, Australia, at that time, and found the portrayal of rural town life very entertaining.
It's by no means a grand film, but it's definitely a way to spend an evening when in need of some romance.
The on-screen connection between Karvan and Jackman works very well.The story revolves around friends Ruby and Jack who lives in the Outback.
Ruby works at a local café and Jack's a road train driver.
They've been best friends for years, and now Ruby is set to marry a sheep farmer.
Amidst all of this, Jack has been carrying a secret - he's written a couple of lovely-dovey romance novels, which have become impressively popular in Sydney.
Of course, it's bound to go wrong.There is some humour which makes you laugh, namely the transformation the main characters have to go through in order to accustom themselves to city life.Overall, it's a cute and fun flick with a somewhat lacking storyline, but a hot & sweaty Jackman certainly makes up for that!.
I have decided to work my way through the filmography of Hugh Jackman, Starting with Paperback Hero (1999)Plot in a Paragraph: Aussie truck driver Jack Willis (Hugh Jackman) has secretly written a romance novel.
Through fear of being ridiculed (as it's not the sort of thing an Australian man's, man does) he used his female best friends name Ruby (Claudia Karvan) things get complicated when a big publisher arrives in town, went Ruby to go to Sydney for a promotional tour.
He is just a lovely bloke.In his first movie, Jackman is surprisingly very solid and Karvan impressed me too.
If anything she is the star of the movie.A pleasant watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon..
Paperback Hero is a very underrated Austrailian film starring a very young Hugh Jackman.
Before Hugh Jackman became the Hollywood Superstar that he is today and became known to Comic Book fans as Wolverine from the X-Men franchise,he starred in this Australian Romantic Comedy where he plays a handsome truck driver named Jack who has a secret.
He loves writing romantic novels and since no one wants to hear of a man writing a romantic novel he used his best friend's name Ruby Vale to keep up his fascade.
But later in the film we meet a woman named Ziggy who wants Ruby to go to Sydney to talk about the book that she was suppose to write unaware its really Jack that wrote it,so Jack and Ruby decide to go to Sydney to promote the book but when they spend some time together Jack falls for his best friend Ruby.But how long will this fascade last for and does Ziggy smell a rat and has a thing for Jack and will Jack admit that he loves Ruby despite the fact she is getting married to someone else?Now the only Australian film I seen Jackman in was Australia with Nicole Kidman and seeing him use his own accent in this film was a delight.
I enjoyed this movie as its incredibly underrated and we get to hear Jackman sing Crying with his female co-star.
Bottom line if you never heard of Jackman and you are new to him,well be my guest and check him out in his film debut from his hometown before he starred in big budget films in Hollywood and became one of Hollywood's attractive leading men and a versatile actor.
I became a fan of Hugh Jackman since Kate & Leopold and the original X-Men movies not to mention his my favorite celeb crush too as his a very handsome man.My advice just find the movie Paperback Hero and check it out.
It reminded me of that film Hugh Jackman starred in next to Ashley Judd Someone Like You only a male version of that film.7/10