Geekscape Movie Review: Paul
In the comedy-adventure “Paul”, best friends Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) have saved for decades to take a sci-fi fan’s trip of a lifetime: a pilgrimage to America’s UFO heartland to track the legendary hot spots of extraterrestrial activity. A close encounter with Paul derails their dream vacation, turning it into a road trip that will rock their universe forever. Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling plan to return Paul to his mothership in one piece, even while being hunted by federal agents and the fanatical father of Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig), a young woman whom they have accidentally kidnapped. The two sci-fi, comic-book loving jocks, or nerds as they are more commonly known, fight to help save an awesome little green man, Paul. Directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) from a screenplay written by frequent collaborators Pegg & Frost, Paul co-stars an impressive comedic supporting lineup that includes Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Sigourney Waver.
“Paul” marks the first screenplay Pegg and his frequent co-star and close friend Nick Frost have written as partners after having worked together for 10 years. The collaboration is interesting because they slightly changed the dynamic of their characters in this film. In the other movies, Pegg played the main character and Frost is the sidekick. But this film is very much a doubleheader. If anything, Frost’s character, Clive, is slightly more dominant and confident, whereas Pegg’s character, Graeme, is a bit of a wallflower at first. Pegg and Frost have created smart, interesting characters and I find them really appealing as performers. Together, they have that special chemistry that is enjoyable to watch. I think it’s because they’re close friends and that they make each other laugh effortlessly. Just as “Shaun of the Dead” is about zombies and “Hot Fuzz” is about action movies, “Paul” is an homage to late ‘70s science-fiction films and the genre of science fictions in general.
Along with the human protagonists, Graeme and Clive, the crucial third member of the cast is, of course, Paul himself. Though his physical presence would ultimately be the work of CGI, his voice needed to be very human. I knew that the film would have never worked if Paul felt like a wholly CGI character; that would have immediately taken people out of the movie. Paul could have ended up looking as though he were plucked from some Saturday night SyFy crapfest, cinematic classic. The voice that was decided upon was Seth Rogen, one of America’s top comedy stars. Even though Paul crash landed on Earth decades ago, Rogen (with a little assistance, perhaps?) infuses the character with a world-weary, yet relaxed sensibility of a guy who contrasts well with his uptight fellow travelers. I liked the fact that Paul changes the people around him, and he doesn’t actually change that much himself during the course of the film. Graeme and Clive are incredibly nerdy, in their shell and very afraid to go after a girl or pursue their career aspirations. Paul is their Tony Robbins, coaching them through their ongoing adolescent phase. Plus, these guys’ dreams come true and they meet an alien and he’s actually a fun guy to be around.
Hot on the trail of the trio is Special Agent Zoil (Bateman), who has the answers to many questions about Paul’s decades on Earth. Bateman’s fellow interplanetary bounty hunters are two odd underlings Bill Hader (Agent Haggard) and Joe Lo Truglio (Agent O’Reilly), the squeaky-voiced fucker from “I Love You, Man.” The crime-busting duos are not the brightest guys, but they’re eager to please Agent Zoil. Kristen Wiig plays Ruth, a sheltered young woman who lives an isolated existence at an RV park with her dad. Ruth is the character who changes the most throughout the course of the story. It was interesting to watch Ruth have a bit of a breakdown when she sees Paul and realizes she has to question the world and everything she’s been taught to believe. It’s like finding out *Spoiler Alert* there’s no Santa Claus. Equally important is who plays Ruth’s Bible-thumping, gun-toting father, Moses Buggs. It’s veteran character actor John Carroll Lynch, known for being Drew Carey’s cross-dressing brother on “The Drew Carey Show.” Oh, yeah, he was also in “Fargo”, “Zodiac” and “Shutter Island”, but come on, how many of you know him from those fucking movies? Really? Anyway, Buggs is this sad, tyrannical, religious character, who takes after Graeme and Clive to get his daughter back.
“Paul” was a satire of science-fiction movies but, at the same time, honored everything in science-fiction movies. That’s a terrific accomplishment. Comic actors Jane Lynch (“Glee” fans, rejoice!) and Jeffrey Tambor were brought onto the production for key cameo roles as Pat Stevens, a saucy waitress at the Little A’Le’Inn, who serves up her share of homespun wisdom to Graeme and Clive as they go in search of alien revelations, and Tambor, as legendary sci-fi author Adam Shadowchild, the acerbic Comic-Con panelist (and fellow Nebulon Award winner) who serves as inspiration for Graeme and Clive’s latest work “Jelva, Alien Queen of the Varvak.”
Rounding out the principal team was legendary actress Sigourney Weaver. From the “Alien” series to “Avatar”, Sigourney Weaver has been a fan favorite of the genre for years. Her character remains mysterious until the end, although she clearly has very sour feelings about Paul. There’s no love lost between them.
The Pegg/Frost trilogy will no doubt be followed up by an even more well-received trilogy that has Pegg and Frost as little boys, then whiny teenagers, followed by cry-babyish badasses. Just kidding. Go see “Paul”. Glory to the gleeks! I mean geeks. Damn you Jane Lynch!
