Paul - That Alien Looks Familiar

Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen (voice), Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, John Carroll Lynch, Sigourney Weaver
Plot: Clive (Frost) and Graeme (Pegg) are two nerds travelling across America in an RV taking in the sights when they come across an alien called Paul (Rogen). He is eager to get home and is being endlessly pursued by Agent Zoil (Bateman).

Paul is an alien. A pretty common looking alien. In fact you might describe him as the original alien. His personality however isn't what you'd typically associate with the child friendly 'E.T'. He smokes, he drinks, he swears and most importantly he is hilarious. With Nick Frost and Simon Pegg on as writers and the director of teen comedy classic 'Superbad' Greg Mottola helming chances are 'Paul' ,both the character and film, were going to be smart and funny.

Judging by the trailer I thought this film was going to be just 'Star Wars' references and toilet humour, but after watching 'Paul' I realised it is so much more than that. While those two elements are present the core to the film is the relationship between Pegg's Graeme, Frost's Clive and Paul voiced by Seth Rogen.It's what drives the story and the chemistry between the three is fantastic, so I don't know why I ever doubted the duo that helped bring two of my favourite comedies ever in 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' to fruition could deliver for a third time.

Paul is of course the star of the show and Pegg and Frost have created a comedy star for the ages in world savvy alien. Rogen does an incredible job of transferring that everyman charm  from 'Knocked Up' and 'Funny People' to a CGI character just by using his voice. Paul is an incredibly likable character and is completely aware of popular culture and the world around him - more so than most humans. The voice at first is slightly jarring however because what first springs to mind is "Hey that's Seth Rogen", but as the movie progresses he becomes an actual character rather than a Seth Rogen voiced alien. The CG used to create Paul is amazing as well because although he doesn't look completely realistic like say Gollum or King Kong did, he fits in with the tone of the film and when the personality is more important than the look it doesn't matter as much.

The humour in 'Paul' is absolutely brilliant and almost tailored made for me. I can't think of a film in the last few years that had me laughing as much as 'Paul' did. The comedy ranges from light hearted to swear filled put downs; especially from Kristen Wiig's love interest Ruth. This is yet another film where Wiig shows great comedic ability playing two sides to the same character; the first being a Bible crazed Christian and the other being a a school girl like woman eager to swear, drink and make a move on the smitten Graeme.

Pegg and Frost do of course have fantastic chemistry and effortlessly show a great bond between the aspiring writer Clive and artist Graeme. Seeing these two guys that have obviously fantasized about meeting an alien and then actually getting to meet one is fantastic to watch. The two react very differently to the arrival of their new travelling companion. Graeme is quite taken by Paul and almost instantly connects with him (after the initial probing worry) while Clive feels the extra terrestrial is ruining the trip they always dreamed of taking together. Clive's reaction doesn't feel totally natural because I mean come on there is an alien riding with you look a little excited, but his doubts soon pass and the fun returns - thankfully.

This is what works about 'Paul' - it is just so much fun. There are a couple of slower moments along the way as Clive, Graeme and Ruth (who comes along for the ride) try to help Paul return home. There must be someone trying to prevent this however and it comes in the form of Jason Bateman's Agent Zoil and his two backup agents played by Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio. Bateman is again on top form playing a character with a slightly meaner edge than we have seen before while Hader and Lo Truglio are funny as the idiotic duo who don't actually know what they are chasing after.

Unlike Pegg and Frost's two previous films however there isn't quite as much heart. There is definitely a connection to the characters and you want to see Paul make it home but there is much more of a focus on the comedy - which is fine but doesn't make it a true juggernaut to rival the near perfect 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz'. The ending could have been more emotional, but there doesn't seem to have been as much intention to make a similar emotional impact to ending of those films, so perhaps it is unfair to evoke comparison to them.

I really enjoyed 'Paul'; it isn't just crammed full of pointless geek references like a feared they are seamlessly integrated into the dialogue and story, therefore working perfectly. The characters are extremely likable and funny with Paul being the obvious standout. There are also two fantastic cameos that I haven't mentioned, so as to not spoil them. 'Paul' is just a great comedy that will keep you laughing and laughing till the end credits. And there is a great "three tits" gag, which for that alone makes it worth seeing - they are hard to come by these days.

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