PAUL
reviewer: Michael Hill
Rated: 15(UK)
Release Date: 13th June 2011
Director:Greg Mottola
Cast:Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Kristen Wiig
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Paul is Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s first foray into screenwriting together and the duos first project without their regular cohort and director Edgar Wright.
The film, directed by Greg Mottola; follows two sci-fi fans (Pegg and Frost) as they embark on a road trip across America visiting famous UFO sights, on said jaunt they encounter an alien who has escaped from Area 51, not your average alien though; a pot-smoking, swearing and laid back Extra Territorial named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen). Paul joins the duo and they are chased by FBI agents across the country as he tries to get back to his home planet. It’s essentially a road trip comedy film with the added element of an alien.
I really like Mottola’s two previous films; Adventureland and Superbad, and have been a big fan of Pegg and Frost’s chemistry since Spaced and their radio show with Karl Pilkington on London rock station Xfm. So I had big expectations for the film, unfortunately not all of these were met. I should point out I am reviewing the unrated cut of the film not the theatrical version, as the DVD has both on it.
The film is not without its merits there were several nice film-making and editing choices, the cgi work for Paul was pretty impressive, and there are some amusing cameos by Jane Lynch, David Koechner and Jeffery Tambor. Mottola should be praised for assembling such a great supporting cast; Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Signourney Weaver, Kristen Wiig and Joe Lo Truglio all do their best with the script. Unfortnately the writing just is not funny enough, there are too few great gags or setpieces and too many that miss the mark. So while it is an enjoyable film with a few good jokes it is not a comedy on par with Mottola’s or Pegg and Frost’s previous efforts
Extras – 3 out of 5
After the special feature feast on both Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz DVDs I was left a little underwhelmed by extras for Paul. There is a blooper reel, a cast/crew commentary, a featurette about the cgi work that went into creating Paul, and two compilations of clips about Jeffery Tambor’s character Adam Shadowchild and one of Simon Pegg pulling various funny faces. This might cut it for a normal DVD but I was expecting more, I should point out that I am reviewing the single disk dvd, not the double disk edition though from what I can gather online the only extra extra the double disk offers is a making of documentary.
Movie Rating: 3/5
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