Film Addict's July Film Choice

In honour of San Diego Comic-Con and the amazing panels they have had this year, I decided to embrace my inner nerd and chose a film that has something to with Comic-Con in it this month for Film Addict's July Film Choice.  Originally, I was going to review something to do with the film being set in July which ventured away from my usual selection but my inner geek won out and I chose Paul.

Paul is the 2011 British-American comedy science-fiction film directed by Greg Mottola; Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, This is the End) voices the titular character while Simon Pegg (Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, Star Trek) and Nick Frost (Three Flavour Cornetto Trilogy, Cuban Fury) are the stars along with Rogen as well as being the scriptwriters.  Other actors include Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Horrible Bosses), Kristin Wiig (Bridesmaids, How to Train Your Dragon), Bill Hader (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Superbad), Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents, What's Your Number?), and Joe Lo Truglio (Superbad, Pineapple Express).

Rating: 8

Recommended To: Anyone; Pegg and Frost fans

Favourite Characters: Pat Shields; Ruth; Zoil

Favourite Part: [Paul hits Ruth and Graeme with his collective knowledge and experience which makes all three of them collapse while Clive is driving which upsets the latter]
Clive: Oh yeah.  He always knew what was going on in Battlestar before me 'cause his mum had cable.
Paul: Fine, pull over, I'll do you.
Clive: Absolutely not.  No spoilers.

Good Points: Pure Pegg and Frost; Paul brought a burst of energy to the film; very sweet film

Bad Points: A bit slow at first; Pegg and Frost dynamic a bit strange at first

Paul follows two British nerds, Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost) - who is frequently introduced as 'the writer Clive Gollings' - arriving in the States and going to San Diego Comic-Con where they are in awe of the wonderful nerd filled fun around them.  After Comic-Con, they go on a road trip to the weird and wonderful in the States, visiting the sites of suspected UFO sightings such as the black mailbox on SR 375, and we get to see a montage of their silly shenanigans.  Along the way, they stop off at a diner run by Pat Stevens (Jane Lynch, Glee) and Graeme accidentally insults two rednecks (David Koechner, Anchorman, and Jesse Plemons, Breaking Bad) so they leave to avoid a confrontation.  As they leave, Clive backs into the rednecks' truck and drives away sharpish.  Later, they are followed by some bright lights from a car and they think it's the rednecks but it overtakes them to their brief relief just before it crashes.  Stopping instantly to see if the driver is okay, they come face to face with an extra-terrestrial called Paul (Rogen), nicknamed after the dog his ship landed on decades ago, who needs help as he's trying to get away from the Big Guy (Sigourney Weaver, Aliens).  Clive faints within seconds of their meeting and while shocked, Graeme agrees to give Paul a lift seen as his car is totalled.  Close on their tail is USSS Agent Zoil (Bateman) who tells the Big Guy he is gaining on Paul; to help the search, the Big Guy sends Haggard (Hader) and O'Reilly (Lo Truglio) to help in the search.  Graeme and the reluctant Clive agree to take to Paul to the meeting place he's agreed on with his home planet in the RV; the adventure continues along their trip as they try to be discreet in this big RV.  Along the way, they meet Christian fundamentalist Ruth (Wiig) which has humorous consequences when she meets Paul and reluctantly joins their little group.

This film was pure Pegg and Frost in my opinion; it was very clever how every main character had their own arc in the story as they meet Paul and learn something from him; all those years of script-writing for Pegg with Edgar Wright have paid off so that he and Frost can make a great film together once again.  The dynamic between Pegg and Frost was at the standard we all love as well; they meshed well together as they always have, since Spaced, and funny as always which is another reason why I love Pegg and Frost films and the rest of the cast were able to fit well around them effectively.

While a great film, it is a little slow at first (I'll talk about that in a few paragraphs), Paul brings this burst of energy to the film, providing this point of conflict that is needed between Graeme and Clive which is generally there when Pegg and Frost co-star so to create some kind of comedy.  Paul was amazing alone because I found Seth Rogen to be perfect as Paul because he was funny but endearing at times; he brings this character to life with this sassy, straight-talking, laidback personality in the alien with a good heart.  While he may be crude and a little bit rude at times, he's warm and caring.

In comparison to the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy that Pegg, Frost, and Wright collaborate on, this was a very sweet film.  Aimed at a more commercial audience instead of their usual geeky fan base, Pegg and Frost deliver this loveable story where two British nerds help an alien get home who in turn brings something new to their lives as well as inspiration.  I think we all need a Paul in our lives.

Jane Lynch is an amazing actress and I love every role I've seen her in (even Sue in Glee despite the fact that I don't watch it) and this time is no different.  I love Pat, the owner of the diner the guys go to at the beginning of the film.  She was so welcoming and wonderfully quirky and was a great character for the guys to interact with at the beginning of their weird journey to all the UFO hotspots.  It's a shame she isn't in the rest of the film apart from the last part because she was an amusing character.

Out of the four main characters that end up in the RV for a length of time, Ruth was my favourite character because she goes through what I consider the biggest character development.  I'm not saying believing in God is a character flaw but in this film, Paul is proof that evolution is a fact due to his being as well as his vast knowledge.  Accepting what Paul is telling her and this new way of thinking is wonderful to see because it is a stereotype that Christian fundamentalists would stand their ground and argue incessantly despite evidence to the contrary.  I don't mean any offence by this comment; it's just been my experience in life.  Another wonderful part about Ruth's character was her learning to swear because it was so creative and random that you couldn't help but laugh at.

Agent Zoil, despite the antagonistic vibe you get from him, was one of the other characters I liked.  Part of it is because it's Jason Bateman and while he is generally the straight-man to the film's foil, he always makes me laugh; maybe it's because he seems so serious all of the time that when he says certain lines, the seriousness makes me laugh, probably out of sheer awkwardness.  He does have this fantastic line that he says when he's frustrated because it's just all swear words and I can identify with him on that because I've had those moments where every swear word I can think of just comes out due to frustration which make me laugh now as well as those around me in that particular moment.

Before the titular character came into the film, I found the first ten minutes to be a bit slow as if Pegg and Frost were trying not to upset anyone and step on any toes as they wander around Comic-Con and do other silly nerdy things.  It's only when Paul pops up and Graeme begins to form a bond with him before Clive meaning a conflict can arise between them and the usual comedy that comes from the Pegg and Frost dynamic is able to generate.

This film is unusual in comparison to Pegg and Frost's usual films because there isn't that initial kind of conflict between Pegg and Frost that is usually present and what we love about their films as I said in a previous paragraph.  The comedy in each film generally comes from the little spark between them dues to one of them being the foil to the other; everything was just that bit too perfect until then.

[Paul hits Ruth and Graeme with his collective knowledge and experience which makes all three of them collapse while Clive is driving which upsets the latter]
Clive: Oh yeah.  He always knew what was going on in Battlestar before me 'cause his mum had cable.
Paul: Fine, pull over, I'll do you.
Clive: Absolutely not.  No spoilers.

This was just completely random and just showed that it's not just now that Clive has been jealous of Graeme but when they were younger.  It just made me laugh and I wished they had shown something like this before Paul came along because it would have brought back the normal dynamic of a slight conflict between Pegg and Frost.  I think I found the last line particularly funny because it just illustrates Clive's stubborn personality beautifully and is by far my favourite line in the entire film other than Zoil's frustrated swearing near the end of the film; this one seemed more appropriate to post.

It may be a little crude and rude like the titular character but Paul is actually a sweet film that everyone who loves Pegg and Frost should watch because it has a different feel to the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy but still has the same duo and their comedic flair that comes with them.  Granted, it's a little slow at first because Pegg and Frost are both being the nice guy but once Paul comes crashing in (literally), the film picks up and everything falls into place.  The characters are wonderfully weird, even the antagonists, and have their own arcs and lessons that they learn from Paul the alien, making it a clever script which is excellent for the duo.  I hope to see more Pegg and Frost collabs on scripts because this one was cleverly done as well as funny which is difficult to do in comedy.  If you enjoy Pegg and Frost together then go and watch Paul.  Okay Eggy?

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