Paul

Who knew Seth Rogen would make a hilarious alien? Apparently Simon Pegg and Nick Frost did in this homage to those alien movies we all loved (or loathed) for the past 50 some odd years. Throw in some dick jokes toilet humor and you’ve got another excellent comedy (in March no less!)

The movie starts out on a ranch in middle America where our extraterrestrial friend crash lands a la Superman and from there we meet our two main protagonists, Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings (Pegg and Frost sporting some long hair), two nerdy lads from across the pond who have come to America for Comic Con and a tour of all the major alien sites. The two keep getting mistaken for a couple on their honeymoon but after their 3rd stop things go off the grid when they witness a car accident and discover Paul (Rogen), who’s escaped from the government and is just trying to get home, asks them for a ride and promises everything will go smoothly. But like any good road trip movie, normal just ain’t gonna cut it.

Pegg, Wiig, Frost and Rogen find out RVs suck the hard way

Once on the road, the film’s stars really get to shine, Rogen in particular is liberated by lending his vocal talents and impeccable comic timing to Paul and the movie finds not only a solid pace but a consistent flow of humor and nods to the movies this one draws from (nerds will orgasm at Pegg and Frost’s witty script). Pegg and Frost, who previously paid homage to Zombie flicks and big budget action pieces, eye the alien genre where such classics as Aliens, E.T. and 2001 exist and you can tell they did their research, as this feels just like on those movies, only with more weed.

The ensemble cast is also just phenomenal. Jane Lynch shows up as a cafe waitress who loves those green dudes a lot, Jason Bateman plays the shady government badass (?) who’s tasked with tracking Paul down. He’s given help in the form of two bumbling rookies (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio) who provide plenty of slapstick humor. Kristen Wiig also shows up as a Creationist R.V. Camp operator who accidentally gets kidnapped then willingly goes along for the ride. Sigourney Weaver also shows up as the head honcho as well as Blythe Danner, using her vast comedic skills in her brief screen time, and look out for a cameo from a very special film maker (and it’s not George Lucas).

Ummm...did you fart sir?

Greg Mottola (Superbad) seems comfortable directing all of the chaos after the disappointing Adventureland. He keeps the camerawork to a minimal but still has great timing when it comes to the action sequences, which is always welcomed in this day and age when the shaky handicam rules (most) action movies as of late. The running time left me wanting more movie, a mere 104 minutes, but a minor gripe I admit.

Overall, Paul is a smart and endearing comedy that I hope you’ll go see this weekend.

B

Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver and Seth Rogen

Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use