Directed by:
Greg MottolaCinematography:
Lawrence SherComposer:
David ArnoldCast:
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Jane Lynch, Jeffrey Tambor, Blythe Danner, David Koechner, Jesse Plemons (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite for the comedy adventure Paul as two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America's UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. When he discovers he's been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town-a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes... (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
The trailers gave me the impression that it would be some kind of childish and embarrassingly vulgar nonsense, but I like science fiction and I gave Paul a chance, even though I was almost sure I would bury it later. And lo and behold! It’s pretty funny. A nice wisecracking comedy that as a bonus sticks its tongue out to Christianity several times. I had fun. 75 %
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I honestly like the work of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost a lot. It's a slightly different kind of humor that, when done well and tastefully (and that's really true in this case), usually works brilliantly. Another very ill-matched (or well-matched?) pair of protagonists who live in their own worlds, yearn for an alien encounter, and their collisions with the real world usually end in disaster. The cadence of jokes and gags may not be as killer this time around as in, say, Hot Fuzz, but it's richly balanced by the laid-back atmosphere that oozes from the entire film, and I actually liked the slight pathos at the end quite a bit.
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I went to the cinema for an unplanned movie. If I had read the plot summary, I probably wouldn't have gone to see it. But then I would have missed out on an excellent comedy with a memorable alien and two cool dudes. I haven't heard so many bad words in one sentence from a one-eyed Christian woman in a long time. And if Paul ever falls down, I want to be there! Quite a brilliant film. 75%
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Unfortunately, I was expecting something a little different from Paul than the end result. I like the films with Pegg and Frost mainly because of their dry English humour, which was totally missing here. I think that if the third of the famous trio, Edgar Wright, had been put in charge of directing, the potential of the film would have been much better used. In fact, in the film, this duo only play second fiddle, because if anyone is pulling it off, it's the stoned alien Paul himself. His digital rendering and all his grimaces are absolutely flawless. The humour itself was not so accomplished, although there were some hints parodying well-known science fiction, but most of it was classically American humour. This is one of the reasons why the British actors did not have a chance to make a significant impact. Setting aside my expectations, I still got an above average comedy, but one that had for a lot more than that.
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Despite the clichés and a hint of sentimentality in the ending, I found myself enjoying the film. Simon Pegg's style gets me every time – flaws and all, the guy can make me laugh. Nick Frost has the same effect on me. Plus, there's something delightful about someone expressing a blind (or semi-blind) faith in a higher power. I could almost hear the sound of fanatical Christians grinding their teeth. Overall, this film managed to lift my mood and I haven't even mentioned the joy of having Kristen Wiig in the mix. / Lesson learned: Choose the location for your final speech very, very carefully.
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Gallery (72)
Photo © The Weinstein Company
![Paul - Lobby Cards](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/160/804/160804135_8b8b54.jpg)
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