Paul
I guess if I had to describe what I thought of Paul in a quick phrase it would be either pretty good or pretty satisfying. Neither of those do anyone any good, but actually they're probably the best way to describe it. And in either case, feeling as I do about the work of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, I'd have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. I was expected another home run here and it just didn't deliver on that level. But it was a good enough time, I suppose. There's a ringing endorsement for you...
So what went wrong...ish? I would suppose it's biggest drawback was a complete lack of bite or edge. See, the thing I love most about Pegg-Frost movies like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz was how edgy they were. It's true, both of their previous efforts had a whole heaping dose of heart as well, but it was balanced by some pretty edgy humor. Or maybe not edgy but biting. Or at the very least untamed. This, well, this was pretty damn tame. And the ratio of heart to edge was skewed way towards heart. On the whole, it made for some pretty nice viewing but there was just something missing. There really weren't any laugh out loud moments in this but there were a lot of chuckles. So if you like chuckling and some clever writing, you very well may like Paul. I did, but I guess my problem was that I was expecting to love it. And it just came up short. You know, the whole lack of edge is doubly surprising considering that the director is Greg Mottola. Yes, this would be the same Greg Mottola who brought you Superbad (one of my all time favorites)... oh and Adventureland (another one I liked but not really a comedy, comedy). Superbad- despite it's heart (yep there it is again)- has some pretty untamed (if you will) comedy and it seemed to come so effortlessly and hilariously. Paul.. well...not so much.
Don't get me wrong, I did really like the movie. I guess I'm running the risk of penalizing a perfectly fine movie because it didn't meet my bloated expectations, but when the previous history includes such awesomely funny flicks as Superbad, Hot Fuzz, and Shaun of the Dead, you can see where one would look towards the next offering with high hopes (unless, well, you hated those movies, I suppose). So yeah, there WAS a lot to like about the movie. Really, there was. Like the typical easy, and often pretty funny chemistry between Frost and Pegg. They were- as is typical of them- fun to just sit back and take in. Then there was the story itself, which was indeed pretty clever (an alien- who crash landed on Earth back in 1947 and became a "guest" of the government- fears that said government wants to harvest his stem cells so he escapes and hatches a plan to be rescued by his people, but in order to make the plan work he needs the help of two British sci-fi junkies on holiday to Comic-Con and all the US southwestern UFO hotspots. The Brits agree to help and some relatively staid chaos ensues). One of the best aspects of the story was all the knowing winks towards some of the best and most iconic sci-fi flicks Hollywood has produced. This, too, is a staple of Frost-Pegg joints and it's always fun to spot those typically clever moments (Wilhelm Scream, anyone?). And besides all that, there was the performances of Jason Bateman and Kristen Wiig. Both did much to steal their scenes. Wiig was particularly awesome as the liberated daughter of a bible-thumping, shotgun toting evangelist. Good stuff.
So yeah, it all amounted to a pretty nice movie. Unfortunately, I was really going to see a "nice" movie. I was hoping to see a frickin' hilarious sci-fi spoof comedy (and when I say spoof, I mean lovingly spoofed. Or even needled. That's another trademark of Pegg-Frost flicks, they aren't particularly base or mean-spirited about their send-ups, but rather are more clever and adoring. The producers of such spoofing crap as Scary Movie should take note... when you aren't out to openly mock the genre you're sending up, it actually works better...). Oh well, you can't win them all. I'm sure over time, I'll come to appreciate Paul for the pretty good or nice movie that it was. Right now, I guess I can't hide some degree of disappointment. I was ready to laugh, not chuckle. I guess there's always the next Pegg-Frost project. I have no idea what it is, but I'm already looking forward to it.
Grade: B+
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