Paul Review

It's hard to be objective for me when I review the comedy, Paul. This movie is about my tribe. No, not Chinese Americans. It's about geeks. And not just any geeks but science fiction geeks. That's the tribe and the right dialect. Anyway, I'll set any bias for the main characters and try to remain objective for this review.

The movie is about two British sci-fi geeks Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) who come to America to attend Comic Con and visit famous UFO locations. On their way to Area 51, the two stop by a diner where they meet a couple of bullies. They decide to run out of the diner but their RV dents the bullies pick-up truck. That accident causes them to flee at a high rate of speed.

On the highway, Graeme and Clive think they are being chased by the bullies when a car passes them. It then crashes. The two stop and investigate the accident. They find Paul (voice of Seth Rogen) , an alien. Paul tells him that he was escaping the government who no longer need his advice and now want to dissect him to see if they can reproduce his special powers. Graeme and Clive agree to take Paul where he can be rescued by his people. Along the way they accidental kidnap Ruth (Kristen Wiig), a fundamentalist Christian. Pursuing them is FBI agent Zoil. (Jason Bateman)

First, what a cast! All are experienced in comedy. Add to that, you get science fiction legend Sigourney Weaver. Wiig is a delight as the innocent but loopy Charles Darwin hating fundamentalist. Pegg and Frost have the geek thing down, though I wonder if they needed to act. Seth Rogen is perfect as the wisecracking alien. That makes up for his horrible Green Hornet earlier this year. The only weakness is that comedic star Jane Lynch is given very little to do.

Pegg and Frost's script contains jokes that will make non-geeks howling probably because of the sharp writing for Paul. But it's the inside jokes that will have science fiction fans in stitches. There are many lines and gags that refer to everything from E.T. to Star Trek to Aliens. And listen to the music of the band playing in the country bar. Kudos to veteran comedy director Greg Mottola (Superbad) for setting up the jokes.

Paul is a cross between the movies E.T. and Vacation. It's sweet, and very funny. The grade is A.