Alien invasion

While new comedy Paul may come across as a movie purely intended for children or sci-fi geeks, the film actually appeals to viewers of all ages, requiring only a sense of humor and a very basic knowledge of aliens.

Alien-obsessed best friends Clive (Simon Pegg) and Graeme (Nick Frost) have dreamed of visiting America for decades. After visiting Comic Con, they plan to head east and visit all the sites of alleged alien sightings, including Area 51. They have to deviate from their plan when they come across a deep-voiced diminutive otherworldly creature named Paul. Paul has been advising the government and the entertainment industry about aliens since he crashed in 1947.  Now he has escaped and is trying to make it back home, while being pursued by Special Agent Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman) and his oblivious underlings Agents Haggard (Bill Hader) and O’Reilly (Jo Lo Truglio). After the sheltered daughter (Kristin Wiig) of a creationist Christian RV park owner (John Carroll Lynch) sees Paul, they take her along for the ride while her father joins the chase.

The title fits because the character of Paul makes the movie. In the beginning, it was just two British alien lovers making easy jokes about gays and immigrants. And then the foreigners meet the extraterrestrial. Seth Rogen, who provides the voice of Paul, probably gets all the best lines.  For example, Paul dispels myths about anal probing with sarcastic logic: “How much can I learn from an ass?” And even though their roles are not as large, the chemistry between Hader and Lo Truglio rivals Pegg and Frost’s.

Paul differs from the stereotypical alien flick because its strength is not its special effects (although they are far from ghastly) or its convoluted plot with multiple races and multiple worlds –  the film’s strength is its humor. The movie pokes fun at – and celebrates – geekdom.  When any non-geek character in the movie asks who the character of sci-fi author Adam Shadowchild (Jeffrey Tambor) is, his obsessed fans list off his works in rapid fire, only to receive blank stares. It’s the same when Clive and Graeme fight in a valley – with Clive wearing a Godzilla mask, saying when discovered, “Oh, God! People!”

This is not a movie for those who do not laugh at penis jokes and attacks on Creationists.  There is physical humor for the Americans, but the British Frost and Pegg poke fun at groups in a way that is more common across the pond. Provided no one takes themselves too seriously, Paul is an accessible comedic joyride that anyone can enjoy.