It's been too long since the bromantic pair of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have hit the big screen but they're back - and geekier than ever.
Paul is a 2011 American comedy written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, directed by Greg Mottola. The two Brits are on a road trip to look at all the famous UFO sites in the U.S., along with their big stop at Comic Con. Along the way, they meet a runaway alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), who explains to them that he's escaped from Area 51 and that he wants to go back home to his own planet. Completely shocked, they agree and begin their road trip to help Paul on his way back home with such huge laughs in between.
Pegg and Frost are struttin' through the streets of Comic Con, walking like the coolest kids on the block.
Trying my hardest not to be bias, I absolutely loved this movie. I felt like all the elements they included in the film fell together perfectly, like peanut butter and jelly. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, being the writers and leads, carried on wonderfully through the film and practically made the movie for me. They were supported by Seth Rogen, who did a great job of being this relaxed, chilled out alien who seemed to take everything as it came and went. The trio was humorous and created awesome situations between each other. Even within the first 10 minutes I was laughing thanks to Pegg and Frost, who encountered a star (Jeffrey Tambor) and it didn?t exactly end up the way they had hoped it be.
Plus Simon Pegg?s love interest, Ruth (played by Kristin Wiig) did a great job in changing her character from the quiet little church girl to a dirty mouth, crazy cut loose girl. Having believed in God her whole life and that He created the whole world and only Earth, seeing an alien seemed to have overworked her brain and instantly, her whole world changed. Wiig did a fantastic job of changing the annoying character to someone I grew to like and root on until the very end.
And the bad guys that ended up chasing them, working for the American government, were superb in their roles. We had Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman from Juno), Haggard (Bill Hader, from Superbad), and O?Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio from I Love You, Man) - and all of them were fabulous. Each one brought something to the table and even through the movie, they had a tiny portion of development and their own funny scenes.
Hey look, it's Agent Zoil and Haggard! Their characters were great together.
You'd figure the storyline of meeting and alien and helping it would be tiring, right? Well, Paul did it perfectly here. There?s no grand entrance or huge light when Pegg and Frost first meet Paul - it's all casual and the reaction is great. From the beginning of the film, Pegg and Frost's characters are always asked if they're a gay couple and the joke continues to run through the movie. This obviously works well, as it has from their other two movies, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.I feel like Pegg, Frost and Seth Rogen did a brilliant job of pushing the plot along, letting the scenes transition into each other smoothly. There wasn't a moment where I felt out of the loop and I felt like all my emotions and feelings were in the proper places during the whole film. There were times where you were supposed to laugh, feel awkward or even (surprise!) feel upset. Especially in the final act, which made my heart ache terribly.
Group shot time!
This movie was a huge shout to science-fiction that's been developed over the past thirty years. There were plenty of insiders and tiny little retro things that older geeks and nerds would enjoy and being one of the newer generation, I didn?t get as much as I could have out of this film. Nevertheless, I still enjoy seeing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collaborating on a movie that could easily be one of the funniest of the year. I?m still giggling at a certain scene which Paul and Nick Frost talk about a certain 'issue' outside. Really, this movie is great for anyone who wants a big bag of laughs.
Although, be warned. There's quite a lot swearing tossed around (thanks to Ruth, silly church girl) and a tiny bit of alien nudity (just the butt, it's okay), letting the movie sit at a 14A rating.
So overall, I felt like this was worth my $7.99 and I would gladly pay to see it again with another friend. The actors were all great and all the lines and scenes were delivered just right, with a little something extra thrown in for an extra laugh or chuckle. Even though I doubt it will go for any big awards, I feel like it's already my favourite movie of the year. Actually, I think anything with Simon and Nick would become my favourite. I hope this didn?t come off too bias? Did I mention I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost yet?
