Paul

Expectations were exceedingly high for this one not only because it stars two of my favourite British actors and that the film is their creation but also because Paul really does seem like one of those films that will deliver entertainment at the finest standard and that is exactly what it did! I thought it was entertaining through the first second until the last and it made me laugh all the way through. It was quite moving on some occasions which did surprise me a bit. However, there was one minor fault that I think Paul has is that after that ending, we don't know what happens afterwards; unless Pegg and Frost wanted to make the viewers question what next.


I guess one could say that Paul perhaps would receive negative criticism for an alien who acts like a person but I am going to say this nice and clear: it is called story-telling and there are a lot of segments in Paul where we take a little trip down memory lane. Where it does this is we are easily reminded of the heart melting magic of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and the visual magic of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind so it is roughly enough a love note towards Steven Spielberg. Well, that is what the actors and makers have suggested it is anyway.


Paul tells the story of two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America's UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voice of Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-travelling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town-a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.


My favourite British duo return for the third time now after the two hilarious comedies Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead but go somewhere slightly different this time; not only because there is no Edgar Wright as director but also Paul is in fact Pegg and Frost's own creation. It is rather extraordinary how they both came up with the idea but really good as well: during the filming of Shaun Of The Dead when they were under shelter from the rain. Simon Pegg always seems to amaze me and is definitely one of the best British living actors if not ever and he proves that once again with a solid performance as Paul. His role as Graeme Willy is a kind of role that is a first time for him and he did a fantastic job! Nick Frost cracked me up in Shaun Of The Dead and especially in Hot Fuzz but guess what? He did almost the same thing again in Paul. After these three films, we now see that Pegg and Frost can be alongside each other in a film playing different kinds of characters that are part of the comedy genre. You know, now thinking about it while reviewing the film, I am surprised that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost haven't portrayed a pair of geeks beforehand. What I love about the duo is that whenever they are in a film together, they either come up with an idea during a random time or they steal what they have experienced and put it into a film (Shaun Of The Dead for example). Seth Rogen was great as the voice of Paul. Paul really is a typical Seth Rogen character, really, because he is that foul-mouthed, cocky but at the same time rather kind-hearted and damn hilarious alien which is exactly what Seth is like in his films (except that he isn't an alien). I really liked Jason Bateman in this one too and the short appearance of Sigourney Weaver too.


No Edgar Wright in a Pegg-Frost film? Wasn't too sure it'd work but after watching Paul, I think it really worked very well. This was directed by Greg Mottola who also directed teen comedy Superbad and comedy-drama Adventureland and it really did make me think a lot about both of those films. As far as Mottola's career is concerned, I think that Paul perhaps became a breakthrough for him because he not only knows now how to make a comedy but he could in the future make a film that is rather enchanting like this one and that would be another breakthrough for him too. I am not too keen on Superbad but now Paul has made up for that now. I thought the script was brilliantly handled especially when it all began in extraordinary and random circumstances (how the idea of the film began, that is; not the script of the film began like that). Anyway, Pegg is a great writer anyway but he works really well writing scripts with Nick Frost now as well as with Edgar Wright like they worked on the screenplays for Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead.


Overall, Paul is an absolutely brilliant sci-fi comedy that I loved from start to finish. Hilarious, surprisingly moving and a very enchanting experience that I think should be checked out by everybody. I do prefer both Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead but I still think it is awesome! It is one of the best films of 2011 so far for me.