Review: Paul

Grade: A+

Graeme and Clive are two comic book/sci-fi nerds on vacation in California from London, England. The two are in San Diego for ComiCon where they got to meet one of their favorite writers. Then, the two decide to hit the road in an RV in order to visit some of the most famous supernatural sites and the sites of some famous UFO sightings. Along the way, a car crashes in front of them on the road. That is when they encounter Paul, a foul-mouthed, cigarette-smoking alien. Paul begs the two to help him escape some danger that he’s in and drive him to Wyoming, where he can be picked up some of his own kind. Meanwhile, a mysterious government agent, accompanied by two dimwitted new agents, track down Paul in an attempt to retrieve him for experimentation.

Paul is written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and is easily one of the funniest and best movies I have seen in a very long time. This movie had my sides splitting from start to finish, simply genius. To start, the movie has non-stop references to classic sci-fi movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, E.T. and many, many others. It is basically one big love letter to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. I would love to go into all the great things that made me fall in love with this movie, but I don’t want to spoil anything for you. In general, the writing is just fantastic and has some of the best and most creative swearing I have ever heard. Really, just every aspect of the movie was 100% enjoyable, fantastic and extremely funny.

Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek) plays Graeme, a comic book artist. Pegg was absolutely hilarious, as he always is. He kept the movie going at a great pace and kept pumping out great jokes throughout. Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, The Boat That Rocked) plays Clive, a science fiction writer. Frost was great too and was really enjoyable and funny. Pegg and Frost work so perfectly together and write such great and funny movies, I hope they make some more movies together soon. Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet, Zack and Miri Make a Porno) does the voice of Paul. Rogen was a perfect choice for the voice of this particular alien. His voice really helps make the character that much funnier. Jason Bateman (The Switch, Extract) plays Agent Zoil. Bateman was great in this movie and despite his character being very intense, he was still very funny. Paul has a cast that is loaded with many extremely funny people including Kristen Wiig, David Koechner, Jane Lynch, Bill Hader, Jeffery Tambor, Sigourney Weaver and keep an ear out for Spielberg himself.

Paul is the perfect comedy for any sci-fi fan. This is one of the funniest movies I think I’ve ever seen. Every second of this movie is enjoyable. I am definitely going to be going to see this movie again, and soon. I absolutely loved this movie, Paul really spoke to my (not so) inner nerd, and I hope many others will love it as well. This is the next E.T., but funny.

Great quote: “Was that Klingon? You psychotic nerd!”