Written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Paul travels in the same direction as their previous collaborations Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz in that it’s an ode to friendship and brotherly love, this time however, it’s an extra-terrestrial ménage à trois with the unexpected arrival of Paul, the slacker alien on the run.
But lets back it up a bit. The film starts off with Paul’s arrival on earth, though this is heavily implied rather than totally played out on screen. Jump forward to the present and our British duo are on an American holiday fulfilling a life long dream of attending the annual Comic Con and meeting their sci-fi author hero.
The author hero predictably turns out to be a bit of a tosser and soon Peg and Frost are on their road trip through America’s geek highlights – anything to do with aliens. Along the way their British innocence gets them in trouble and whilst escaping the rage of a couple of rednecks, they run into Paul, the alien.
Pretty soon they’ve got the FBI on their tails and have to kidnap and overly religious (but cute) girl and the girl’s father joins the FBI in pursuit, though not hand in hand so to speak.
Even though the film is based entirely in America, this is classic Pegg and Frost and the British humour shines through. The American’s (especially authority figures) are shown to be cold hearted and easily outwitted by a couple of bumbling poms.
If you loved Shaun and Fuzz, or are a fan of good British humour than Paul is a sure fire hit. You won’t be laughing for the entire film, but you’ll be busting you gut enough to make it a worthwhile watch. FILMGUIDE rating: Reviewed by: Jonathan
Comments are closed.
There is something about me..
