Nick Frost - Clive Gollings
Seth Rogan - Paul
Kristen Wiig - Ruth Buggs
Greg Mottola (Director)
Paul is the story of a mild mannered alien and the nerds that befriend him. I suppose I should say that Paul is the story of a poorly mannered, foul mouthed alien. The story revolves around the geeks attempts to get Paul to a meet-up location, and of course all the colorful character they meet along the way.
I enjoyed Paul a fair amount. It is very referential to other sci-fi films. Fans of films like Star Wars, the Alien films, Predator, Close Encounters, E.T., The X Files and the like should enjoy the all the homages. The problem is that you had to catch the references in order to get to many of the jokes. And it is a very jokey film. I caught most of them I think, but there were times where the pacing was so that I knew that I had just missed something.
Frost and Pegg are the stars of the films Shaun of the Dead (Movie #43) and Hot Fuzz. Both of those films make references to all sorts of other films, but catching these cues are not critical to the overall plot or enjoyment of the film.
Kristen Wiig may have been the best part of the movie. She plays a trailer park dweller / Bible thumper that get taken hostage by the crew. She abandons her religious way and joins the dark side. She begins swearing after having lived a life without even hearing curse words. It is not the most original gag, but her enthusiasm and delivery makes it sound fresh and funny.
I love Jason Bateman, but he is not given anything to do here. He is a government agent that is tracking Paul. Totally wasted. The foul mouthed alien has a few funny stints, bout over all the film fell flat. The story slugs along stopping only to set up the next bit of shtick.
I did laugh (though be it mindlessly) enough to slightly recommend the film. Even though everyone involved has produced better work. I give Paul ★★★. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.
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