In my opinion, PAUL has a lot of similarities to the 2008 film FANBOYS. Both of these films are geek-centric with a lot of the laughs coming from the references to classic science fiction. Whereas FANBOYS relied on these references for pretty much 100% of the humor and would alienate any non (or even casual) STAR WARS fan, PAUL is more accessible to people who might not get all the winks and nods. It's definitely feels like another "by geeks, for geeks" film but the characters and the story are fun enough for general audiences to have a good time. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are Graeme and Clive, a couple of English geeks on vacation in America for Comic Con. After indulging in their fandom at the Con, Graeme and Clive rent an RV for a tour of the west's UFO hotspots. Plans are interrupted by the chance meeting with Paul, an alien who has escaped from a government installation. Paul's ready to leave Earth, but the government has got other plans for him. The trio take off on a road trip to get Paul to his rendezvous point while Agent Zoil and his two government cronies try to track them down.
PAUL is a funny movie. It's good for some chuckles and it's got a feel-good vibe. It's not a hilarious film. I'm not even sure I truly laughed at any point in the movie. Cracked plenty of smiles, sure, but the humor is pretty tame here. It's not as excessive as FANBOYS, but a lot of the funny bits are just the throwbacks to movies like BACK TO THE FUTURE, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, and of course STAR WARS. Paying homage to a beloved film is great, but it's tough to make a consistently funny movie with it. The remainder of the humor comes from excessive vulgarity. I've got nothing against vulgar language in movies and, when done right, can add extra flavor (e.g. PULP FICTION, CLERKS.). Here it's just tossed out and assumed that the audience will laugh at anything "dirty". A lot of Paul's character is just how vulgar he is. Sure, it's funny at first...a little grey alien spouting curse words...but it only goes so far. Kristen Wiig is sort of wasted here. She's an excellent comedienne and her character's main quirk is her clumsy cursing. And it's a running gag that just keeps going and going long after it's stopped being amusing.
I have a lot of questions when I think back about this movie. How much better would it have been if Edgar Wright had directed? Would it have actually worked better if they'd gone with a PG-13 rating so the filmmakers could've focused on writing better jokes. The cast is great, regardless. It's always awesome to see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together on screen. Seth Rogen is the voice of Paul. I really didn't know what to expect at first. Rogen has a very distinct voice and I thought it'd be weird for him to voice the title character, but Rogen's voice acting and excellent CG turn Paul into a great character. Wiig, despite suffering from poor dialogue, is lovable as ever. The movie's fun and the characters are enjoyable. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't worth a viewing, especially if you are a fan of the sci-fi classics since this movie is loaded with love for them. PAUL's problem isn't that it doesn't entertain, it's that it's not too memorable. After seeing it in theaters, I'd actually forgotten all about it until I saw the home video ads.
PAUL is a funny movie. It's good for some chuckles and it's got a feel-good vibe. It's not a hilarious film. I'm not even sure I truly laughed at any point in the movie. Cracked plenty of smiles, sure, but the humor is pretty tame here. It's not as excessive as FANBOYS, but a lot of the funny bits are just the throwbacks to movies like BACK TO THE FUTURE, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, and of course STAR WARS. Paying homage to a beloved film is great, but it's tough to make a consistently funny movie with it. The remainder of the humor comes from excessive vulgarity. I've got nothing against vulgar language in movies and, when done right, can add extra flavor (e.g. PULP FICTION, CLERKS.). Here it's just tossed out and assumed that the audience will laugh at anything "dirty". A lot of Paul's character is just how vulgar he is. Sure, it's funny at first...a little grey alien spouting curse words...but it only goes so far. Kristen Wiig is sort of wasted here. She's an excellent comedienne and her character's main quirk is her clumsy cursing. And it's a running gag that just keeps going and going long after it's stopped being amusing.
I have a lot of questions when I think back about this movie. How much better would it have been if Edgar Wright had directed? Would it have actually worked better if they'd gone with a PG-13 rating so the filmmakers could've focused on writing better jokes. The cast is great, regardless. It's always awesome to see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together on screen. Seth Rogen is the voice of Paul. I really didn't know what to expect at first. Rogen has a very distinct voice and I thought it'd be weird for him to voice the title character, but Rogen's voice acting and excellent CG turn Paul into a great character. Wiig, despite suffering from poor dialogue, is lovable as ever. The movie's fun and the characters are enjoyable. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't worth a viewing, especially if you are a fan of the sci-fi classics since this movie is loaded with love for them. PAUL's problem isn't that it doesn't entertain, it's that it's not too memorable. After seeing it in theaters, I'd actually forgotten all about it until I saw the home video ads.