Paul Review

Simon Pegg. Nick Frost. Playing nerds. An alien voiced by Seth Rogen. Chances are you know what you’re getting. Chances are you’re going to enjoy it.

Despite not being helmed by regular collaborator and director Edgar Wright, Paul will feel familiar to anyone acquainted with the duo’s previous work on film, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Paul marks an interesting melding of two comedic movements: Pegg and Frost’s British domestic humour and the frat-boy boisterousness of Judd Apatow and his acolytes, as represented by Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio. Roles for Jason Bateman (like Pegg and Frost, an alumnus of a criminally under-watched cult comedy programme), Sigourney Weaver, Jeffrey Tambor and Jane Lynch complete an impressive cast in this paean to all things sci-fi.

Pegg and Frost play two British geeks road-tripping through America who encounter the titular Paul, an alien who crash landed on earth sixty years previously and is fleeing the clutches of the American government in a bid to return home. Our heroes take it upon themselves to aid Paul in his flight for freedom, but relentless CIA agents, aggressive rednecks and fundamentalist Christians stand in the way of their goal.

Whilst perhaps not as funny or polished as Shaun or Fuzz, Paul is an enjoyable and humorous comedy. The film’s greatest strength is in its willingness to celebrate rather than ridicule the geekiness of its protagonists. Humour arises from the foibles of the characters, rather than at their expense. Rogen, perhaps at risk from over-exposure in increasingly similar and annoyingly laddish roles, is at his charming best when reduced simply to a charismatic vocal performance. Bateman is also impressive and Sigourney Weaver’s cameo is guaranteed to delight. Wiig is also a welcome addition to the cast and is a source of more than a few belly laughs in her character’s attempts at creative swearing. Credit is also due to director Greg Mottola, who continues his impressive run of form by out-funnying Superbad, though perhaps not equalling the emotional engagement of Adventureland.

Paul does not quite achieve the standard of Pegg and Frost’s previous work, largely due to its slightly more mainstream approach. The script’s constant referencing of science fiction classics (ET, Star Wars, Aliens, and so forth), whilst amusing, also borders on being overdone at times. Curiously, the film has been given a Valentine’s Day release, though unless you and your significant other are both geeks; it seems a somewhat unlikely date movie. The vague homoeroticism that surrounds Pegg and Frost is also noted a little too broadly at times for my tastes. These, however, are relatively minor quibbles though: Paul is about as good a comedy/sci-fi/roadtrip/bromance British-American collaboration as you could wish for. And if you have any affection whatsoever for science fiction, you’re probably going to love it.