Nerd Mentality

MOVIE REVIEW - Paul

Posted March 22nd 2011 by Frankie Aguilar.

A movie like Paul is tough to categorize. It's part genre-bending love letter to sci-fi and part road trip buddy comedy, but even that explanation only begins to scratch the surface. A movie as steeped in heartfelt sentiment as it is in irreverent comedy, Paul and its all-star cast consistently surprises, and keeps you laughing from the get go. While some of the subject matter might initially alienate (honestly no pun intended) some moviegoers, the solid pacing and continued excellence of the duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost makes for a wonderful movie.

The idea of this movie being a love letter to sci-fi movies is apparent not only in the casting of the film, but also in the writing. Paul was co-written by leading men and heterosexual life partners Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and much like their cult classics Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Paul has that "affectionate parody" feeling to it. The main difference this time around is the director chair is filled by Greg Mottola (Superbad, Daytrippers) instead of longtime Pegg and Frost collaborator Edgar Wright. But Mottola's attention to the emotional relationships between his characters plays into what is the true heart of this movie: friendship.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star as Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings respectively, two English sci-fi nerds and life long friends, on a post comic-con, cross country road trip. What sets these Brits apart from your garden-variety "nerd" is that their genre of choice is extraterrestrial—specifically, supposed alien crash landing and encounter sites. But they get more than they could have ever imagined when they meet this movie's namesake: Paul. Paul, an alien escapee from the legendary Area 51, is heading north to try to get home, and Graeme and Clive step up to this dangerous calling.

Paul deconstructs a lot of what people perceive of aliens. Voiced and motion-captured by Seth Rogen, Paul is about as normal a guy as there is, except that he's an alien. He chain smokes, curses profusely and spends a decent amount of time everyday scratching himself. He also has camouflage and healing powers, along with the ability to share his thoughts with other people. If all of these things sound like they've been in other movies, there's a great explanation for that: all modern sci-fi is based in part on or is directly influenced by Paul himself. There's a great voiceover cameo scene by Steven Spielberg talking to Paul, who happens to be hanging out in the famous warehouse from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, about his ideas for E.T.

While the trio of Rogen, Frost and Pegg is stellar enough, the remainder of the all-star ensemble cast is great, and no actor feels like they were thrown in just to add another name. The trio of government agents in pursuit of Paul throughout the movie are all hilarious. With the straight-laced Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman) backed up by goof ball rookies Haggard and O'Reilly (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio, respectively), every failure is more hilarious than the last. But the best supporting act absolutely comes from Kristen Wiig in the role of Creationist Christian Ruth Buggs. Ruth becomes the fourth member of the motley crew against her will, and it's safe to say the idea of aliens being real certainly shakes her faith. But after a mind share with Paul and a budding romance with Graeme, Ruth buys into Paul's plight and steals almost every scene she's in. It's really awesome to see Wiig inhabit such a large role and superbly hold her own, especially against the rapport and charisma of Frost and Pegg.

There's not much in this movie to complain about really, but that's coming from a gigantic nerd and a dude who has a double man crush on Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It does start a bit slowly, but only in relation to the break-neck pace of the rest of the film. And obviously, if you're not a huge fan of sci-fi in general, a lot of the motifs may soar over your head, and a few of the jokes or references won't mean a thing to you. Paul does a good job of not pandering only to the nerds, and there's at least obvious Star Wars jokes that everyone can get into. And really, there's so much more to this movie than the over the top, geek-related goofiness.

The buddy comedy you've come to expect from a Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is still present, but through Mottola's direction a sweeter side comes out and it's only enhanced by the addition of Paul. Even though they're being chased by the government and harboring an extraterrestrial fugitive, they stick together no matter what ridiculous situations they get into. And for all his bluster and foul mouthed antics, Paul really comes to care about Graeme and Clive, and they for him. You wouldn't think that a movie about comic books nerds and aliens could be heartwarming, but Paul manages to pull it off. And with excellent cameo appearances and a wonderful supporting cast, this is a movie I highly recommend.

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