The comedy duo from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are back in Paul, a comedic, sci-fi road trip movie unlike any other. It is a tribute to all of the sci-fi geeks that love the mysteries and mystique of other beings living in our universe, and who have serious love for Steven Spielberg. Speaking of Spielberg, this movie is a mixture of his movie E.T. and another movie that showcases the power of nerds, Fanboys. Except with a lot more language and a smart ass alien. Paul is entertaining and exciting, and shows a completely different side of extraterrestrial life and it’s pretty damn funny.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings, two British comic book geeks who finally make a trip to Comic-Con and begin a journey in an RV through America’s UFO heartland. While at the mysterious yet famous Area 51, they’re accidentally introduced to Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), an alien who wears shorts and flip-flops and has quite the potty mouth. He has been kept at a top-secret military base giving the government all the advice and help he can provide for over 60 years, but he has nothing new to offer so they want to get rid of him.
Paul escapes and needs Graeme and Willy to get him back to his mother ship, but it won’t be that easy. They are being chased by federal agents, lead by Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman), and the religious crazy father of Ruth Buggs (Kristin Wiig), who at first is unintentionally kidnapped but soon becomes part of the team to help Paul get the hell out of this world and back to his.
Pegg and Frost (who also wrote the movie) are a perfectly matched, intelligent and comedic team. There are a lot of funny parts in Paul, and most of them involve Rogen and/or Wiig. But Pegg and Frost play guys who we all have seen before. They are lost in their own fantasy world and who seem to have never grown up. It’s fun to watch these two having a blast and they are careful not to make fun of people like their characters, yet at their wild obsessions. Graeme and Clive are lovable guys who are fascinated by UFOs and their existence. So they get more than they ever could have imagined when they meet Paul.
Director Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) puts a little bit of everything in Paul. It is a sweet buddy comedy, a sci-fi/action adventure, and a hilarious road trip movie with a wild and crazy big-headed green man behind the wheel. And Rogen voicing Paul is brilliant. The personality and humor of Rogen pours out of him and it could not have worked out any better.
Paul is fun entertainment for just about everyone. And with a stellar cast that each have their own scenes that will make you laugh, you cannot help but enjoy a silly movie such as this one. It is a charming, good-hearted, and certainly enjoyable comedy even if it isn’t exactly the best from Pegg and Frost.
“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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