Paul (2011)

Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.

Director:

Greg Mottola

Writers:

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

Stars:

Mia Stallard, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mia Stallard	...	Young Tara
Simon Pegg	...	Graeme Willy
Nick Frost	...	Clive Gollings
Jeremy Owen	...	Sword Vendor
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Adam Shadowchild
David House	...	Security Guard
Jennifer Granger	...	Adam Shadowchild Fan
Nelson Ascencio	...	Jorge
Jane Lynch	...	Pat Stevens
David Koechner	...	Gus
Jesse Plemons	...	Jake
Seth Rogen	...	Paul (voice)
Jason Bateman	...	Agent Zoil
Sigourney Weaver	...	The Big Guy
Bill Hader	...	Haggard

Storyline

Two sci-fi geeks take a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. When he discovers he's been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town - a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | nerd | escape | area 51 | road trip | 

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Taglines:

Only Girls Phone Home

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Official site [uk]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Klingon

Release Date:

18 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kosmita Paul

Filming Locations:

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, Taos, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,043,310 (USA) (18 March 2011)

Gross:

$37,371,385 (USA) (13 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 109 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While researching the film, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost actually drove an RV along the route Clive and Graeme would take in the script. During the trip they stopped at the actual Little A'le'inn, where they encountered a chatty waitress and some belligerent locals. The encounter inspired them to include it in the script.

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Goofs

Two men appear behind them in the diner when Graeme and Clive receive the "Alien on Board" sticker however when the two hillbillies appear the two men are gone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Tara: [referring to her dog] Go on, then, Paul. Don't be long.

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Crazy Credits

There's a scene during the end credits.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.107 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"CANTINA BAND"
from the motion picture "Star Wars"
(John Williams)
Performed by Syd Masters and the Swing Riders

User Reviews

After lampooning the cop-buddy and zombie flick genre, Pegg and Frost take their turn to meet E.T and do the same.

Shaun of the Dead – great. Hot Fuzz – brilliant. Paul, The third collaboration between the two best friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is another action-packed comedy featuring an alien, guns, and Jason Bateman. Unlike the previous films the pair starred in, Paul still has the strong bromance between the two but takes a turn to be more of what Scott Pilgrim Vs the World was instead of Hot Fuzz.

Scott Pilgrim – directed by Edgar Wright who also directed the first two films mentioned – was a geek-friendly action comedy. Paul is more of a geek-friendly comedy. It's crude, so think Superbad (Greg Mottola had directed that too) instead of Shaun. Then add the whole 'comic' tone of Scott Pilgrim – the great action scenes but less violent and amusing ones instead, and two geeks who are into comics rather than in the comic like Scott Pilgrim was. And add E.T gone comedy with the voice of Seth Rogen. Plus add a cameo from Sigourney Weaver. Then you have Paul, a geeky, clever, and very funny film but simultaneously you then have its problem.

As you could probably figure from the description above, the problem being said is that Paul tries to pack too much in during the encounter with the alien itself. The running time is a perfect 104 minutes. But by the end of those 104 minutes, there are several suggested sub-plots and alternate directions that could have been taken to reach the destination. One sub-plot involves Paul shattering Ruth's (Kristen Wiig) faith. It's an odd film to have a religious subtext in and it will maybe have questions thrown at in terms of what message is trying to be said. Nevertheless, those 104 minutes are brimmed with pure entertainment and the plot is established enough to make sense and not take a wrong turn.

With an ensemble cast, what makes Paul especially hilarious is how every character in the film has a moment of comedy gold. That includes Adam Stevenson – famous writer whom they meet at a Comic-Con festival and simply has five on-screen minutes. Five amusing on-screen minutes. Pegg and Frost are as funny as they were before, fizzing chemistry over Area 51, still the brilliant duo that work better than Pegg and Andy Serkis did in Pegg's last film Burke and Hare. They're buddies with mutual buddy-love that are better together than most odd pairings. It's (probably) guaranteed that they will stay as the best British duo even off-screen as Thomson and Thompson in the upcoming Tintin film which is to be directed by veteran sci-fi director Steven Spielberg. It's reported that Pegg and Frost said that Paul was a love letter to Spielberg – it sure is an amusing one, and is certainly the best Valentine-themed film this Valentine's Day.

The pair wrote the screenplay for this film – so expect many contemporary references – plenty of sci-fi ones – and clever gags. At times, the jokes can feel a little self indulgent; inside jokes that would probably confuse most and only careful listeners can interpret the clever jokes. The majority of the script, however, is a laugh-a-minute ride with some recurring jokes that become funnier and funnier throughout. Paul's part of the script gives a big L to The Green Hornet; Seth Rogen was much funnier off screen. The actor was miscast as the green superhero so there were dreads of him being miscast as this green amiable alien but kudos to Pegg and Frost because this was the perfect script for Rogen to show that The Green Hornet's failed hilarity wasn't detrimental. Looking at another view, if Rogen was the screenwriter for Paul, then maybe it would have been of the dull standard of the Hornet unless he can still write something on par with Superbad. Imagine that.

Paul may be a funnier film for the more clever/geeky viewer. If that's the case, the words 'Cult Following' can be seen written all over it. For all other audience, Pegg and Frost haven't diminished in their comedy quality from their previous films even though Paul may be broader than either of them. If Scott Pilgrim was the geekiest film of last year, Paul definitely wins that title for this year. It may not be an Out of This World film (pun partially intended) but lays claim to the most hilarious film of 2011 yet.

Verdict: Your money's worth – Paul is the funniest film there has been in ages.

Find Musanna's Film Reviews @ musannaahmed.blogspot.com