Tom Reviews "Paul" DVD

Tom's Corner:







Paul

(2011, Greg Mottola dir)



Did you see “Shaun of the Dead?” How about “Hot Fuzz?” Well, then, you should see “Paul.” Not only because Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star in it. But because it's actually a watchable movie. And now, onto the dog and pony show we call a review.



As I mentioned, our two principals are Frost and Pegg, playing two British comic fans and sci-fi nerds who travel to San Francisco for Comic-Con. They meet their hero, Adam Shadowchild (Jeffrey Tambor, who never fails to make me laugh), who turns out to be less than inspiring. A brief aside here. Pegg's character, Graeme, while at Comic-Con, says he's never felt more at home. Bullshit. I've been to New York Comic-Con several times myself. I've never been pushed more, annoyed by unwashed back-issue bin diggers (I know what deodorant and a shower are, and I use them quite well, thank you) more, or disgusted by the 'ooo look titties!' nerds bothering the booth babes more...but at home? No, not really. Anyway, the two decide that while in America, they're going to tour famous UFO sites in the American Southwest. After an encounter with two rednecks (David Koechner and Jesse Plemons, who are both being underutilized here) and a sassy diner waitress (Jane Lynch), they come across a car crash. Here is where they meet our resident alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen).



Paul has been the guest of the U.S. Government since 1947, and now wants nothing more than to go home. Pursuing him at the behest of the Big Guy (Sigourney Weaver, who is definitely believable as someone who hates aliens) is Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman, making his 19th movie appearance since playing Michael Bluth on “Arrested Development”). Zoil recruits two incompetent agents named O'Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio) and Haggard (Bill Hader) to help him, never revealing just what it is they are tracking.



Along the way, they run into a creationist Christian named Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig) and her equally religious nut father Moses Buggs (John Carroll Lynch). The boys accidentally kidnap Wiig, and her father soon gives chase.



There are a LOT of sci-fi references in the film, and a lot of tired old jokes that are made new again in the hands of some masters of comedy. This also marks the only performance by Wiig that I've ever found remotely funny or charming. In fact, very rarely do I sit through a two hour movie and not get a little bit bored or annoyed. In my opinion, a lot of comedies seem to fall back on gross-out humor and Jason Bateman lately (seriously, 19 movies in 5 years). I was contented to see that the gross-out humor was light and not too overdone, and Bateman did not play a neurotic dad. For that alone, see “Paul.”



- Tom



Special Features:

Hilarious Bloopers

The Evolution of Paul

Simon's Silly Faces

Who the Hell is Adam Starchild?

Galleries

Feature Commentary



(NOTE): You can watch Paul right now (for the next 24 hours) for 4 bucks on Youtube direct. Click HERE.