David AllsoppReview: Paul (2011)
May 6th 2011 03:32
Directed by Greg Mottola.
British stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return with a very American movie.
Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are two British geeks visiting Comic-Con who then head-off in an RV on a road trip to visit the great American UFO hot-spots such as Area 51 and Roswell. Along the way they encounter a foul-mouthed alien called Paul (CGI & Seth Rogen), who enlists the duo to help him in his quest to return to his home planet. However, the authorities who have had Paul in custody for decades aren’t about to let that happen, and soon there are special agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Joe Lo Trullio) hot on their trail.
I’m a fan of the previous films that Pegg and Frost have made together, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Those two pictures were directed and co-written (with Pegg) by Edgar Wright, but this time around Pegg and Frost have shared writing duties and are under the helm of Greg Mottola, whose recent credits include Superbad and Adventureland. While still lovingly playing tribute to some classic films of the genre (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Spielberg films in general) Paul has a different feel to Fuzz and Shaun – it plays a little broader, is more classically photographed, is looser in the editing, and has a decidedly American feel.
Pegg and Frost have had great chemistry on-screen since the Spaced days, and it is certainly on display here also. The opening scenes work well to display their friendship and set-up their characters. It can feel like a bit of a slow-start or warm-up to the rest of the film, but if you have the audience laughing too hard too early you find yourself with big expectations for the rest of the film to live up to. Fortunately, as soon as Paul emerges into the headlights of the RV the film really gets into motion.
The film was always going to live or die on the success of the title character, and the great news is that Paul is both a fully-formed character who is funny and endearing, and the effects are of such a high-quality that you accept him as a reality within the film - his interactions with the other characters are flawless and convincing. Rogen’s voice and motion-capture work is great, and it all serves the character.
Kristen Wiig gets to shine as Ruth, a small town woman raised by a hard-line Creationist father. After encountering Paul her beliefs are shattered and her transformation from prim and pious to cursing and curious is believable and very funny. Jason Bateman again proves to be a solid all-rounder and has a lot of fun in his roll as the “man in black” sent after Paul. Bill Hader and Joe Lo Trullio are great in support and are given quite a lot of material to work with. In this film even the smaller characters have nice little arcs, and there are a number of great cameos for film fans.
Paul is a comedy that is many things; a road-trip that becomes a chase; a loving homage that is also it’s own beast; science-fiction but also a buddy comedy. Above all though, Paul is a very enjoyable and funny comedy.
Four non-probing extra-terrestrial Bananas out of Five.
Have you seen Paul? What did you think?
British stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return with a very American movie.
Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are two British geeks visiting Comic-Con who then head-off in an RV on a road trip to visit the great American UFO hot-spots such as Area 51 and Roswell. Along the way they encounter a foul-mouthed alien called Paul (CGI & Seth Rogen), who enlists the duo to help him in his quest to return to his home planet. However, the authorities who have had Paul in custody for decades aren’t about to let that happen, and soon there are special agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Joe Lo Trullio) hot on their trail.
I’m a fan of the previous films that Pegg and Frost have made together, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Those two pictures were directed and co-written (with Pegg) by Edgar Wright, but this time around Pegg and Frost have shared writing duties and are under the helm of Greg Mottola, whose recent credits include Superbad and Adventureland. While still lovingly playing tribute to some classic films of the genre (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Spielberg films in general) Paul has a different feel to Fuzz and Shaun – it plays a little broader, is more classically photographed, is looser in the editing, and has a decidedly American feel.
Apparently Nick and Simon don't see one of those every day.
Pegg and Frost have had great chemistry on-screen since the Spaced days, and it is certainly on display here also. The opening scenes work well to display their friendship and set-up their characters. It can feel like a bit of a slow-start or warm-up to the rest of the film, but if you have the audience laughing too hard too early you find yourself with big expectations for the rest of the film to live up to. Fortunately, as soon as Paul emerges into the headlights of the RV the film really gets into motion.
The film was always going to live or die on the success of the title character, and the great news is that Paul is both a fully-formed character who is funny and endearing, and the effects are of such a high-quality that you accept him as a reality within the film - his interactions with the other characters are flawless and convincing. Rogen’s voice and motion-capture work is great, and it all serves the character.
Don't you just hate when someone shines a giant torch in your face?
Kristen Wiig gets to shine as Ruth, a small town woman raised by a hard-line Creationist father. After encountering Paul her beliefs are shattered and her transformation from prim and pious to cursing and curious is believable and very funny. Jason Bateman again proves to be a solid all-rounder and has a lot of fun in his roll as the “man in black” sent after Paul. Bill Hader and Joe Lo Trullio are great in support and are given quite a lot of material to work with. In this film even the smaller characters have nice little arcs, and there are a number of great cameos for film fans.
Paul is a comedy that is many things; a road-trip that becomes a chase; a loving homage that is also it’s own beast; science-fiction but also a buddy comedy. Above all though, Paul is a very enjoyable and funny comedy.
Four non-probing extra-terrestrial Bananas out of Five.
Have you seen Paul? What did you think?
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