There is little doubt that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost intended Paul to be an enjoyable romp through the collective memory of all the classic Science Fiction feature films of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and, if nothing else, it succeeds in being a heartfelt love letter to the extra-terrestrial. However, as an original comedy from the pedigree of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz it does feel a little underwhelming.
That’s not to say that it isn’t enjoyable or that it doesn’t play to its strengths; it does, although there is such a sense of prevailing familiarity about the whole proceedings that it fails to totally grip you or draw you in. Still, you’re more than happy to take the proverbial ride over again because the leads are so amiable and the swift-moving plot never attempts to be taxing.
Illustrator Graeme Willy (Pegg) along with his childhood friend and collaborator ‘the writer’ Clive Gollings (Frost) have decided to round off their visit to San Diego’s Comic-Con convention by taking a road trip navigating America’s most famous UFO hot spots, including Area 51, The Black Mailbox and Roswell. Whilst driving their RV through the night, a car pulls out, swerves off the road and explodes right in front of them. The duo stop to help and are confronted by ‘Paul’ (Seth Rogen), an extremely laid-back and uncouth alien who convinces them that he’s been held prisoner on Earth for the last 60 years and needs their assistance to get home.
In hot pursuit is Special Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman), aided by two inept FBI tenderfoots (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio) who track them down at the ‘Pearly Gates RV’ park, where they learn that the trio have absconded with the proprietor’s daughter Ruth (Kristen Wiig), a devout, one-eyed, Creationist Christian who believes that the Earth is 4000 years old and could only have been created by intelligent design. It transpires that during Paul’s captivity he has been aiding the government in a wide variety of scientific endeavours; he’s even influenced popular culture, and in an amusing telephone cameo, Steven Spielberg enthusiastically receives research material to develop E.T. from him.
It appears that Paul has imparted all his otherworldly secrets and that the government were planning to dispose of him before he escaped. What they don’t know is that he has a series of special abilities, including thought transference and the power of healing. In a key scene, he restores Ruth’s bad eye and then telepathically shares all of his experiences with her, thus bringing about the sudden shattering of her faith and an amusing transformation as she learns to curse and do all the naughty things her zealous father had hitherto forbidden; this evolutional debate is as meaty as Paul gets and given the otherwise broad nature of the humor it feels somewhat at odds with the tone of the picture.
The last reel directly parodies E.T. as Paul arranges to meet the Mothership that’s taking him home near the landmark Devil’s Tower featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind; it also unmasks the guest villain of the piece, the ‘Big Guy’ (Sigourney Weaver) who Special Agent Lorenzo Zoil (groan) reports to. Paul mockingly remarks as he boards the spacecraft that everyone has learned something from the experience, “Be yourself, speak from the heart, some shit like that?” and the lads nonchalantly admit that they do feel “a bit different”, but the coda which plays out over the closing credits is far more telling. It shows Willy and Gollings being heralded by their hero, the Sci-Fi novelist Adam Shadowchild (Jeffrey Tambor) as the creators of the award-winning book “Paul” based upon their exploits, and it would seem that this desire for a popular and commercial success is what the movie Paul is ultimately all about.
Regrettably, Paul is the victim of its own budgetary requirements. In order to create the extremely convincing computer-generated titular character, the film caves in to the necessary surfeit of titty, pot and fart gags at the cost of genuine wit, real suspense and authentic mystery. Having said that, I can’t blame Pegg and Frost for wanting a big box office hit to cement their Hollywood careers and, despite the script’s shortcomings, their onscreen chemistry is undeniable.
The Universal Pictures Blu-ray release is presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a full 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 transfer. Not only is there an incredible amount of detail in Paul’s eyes and elongated fingertips but the high definition brings great depth to the wide American landscapes that set the backdrop. The DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack is as crisp and dynamic as you’d expect from a modern Sci-Fi movie, the sound really travels most notably when Paul displays his special ability of thought transference. There is also a mass of extra material which we’ve come to expect from previous Big Talk Productions, the best of which is Between the Lightning Strikes: The Making of ‘Paul’ which contains extensive interviews with the principal cast and creative team.
Paul isn’t a bad film, but given Pegg and Frost’s track record, it could have been a truly great one. I don’t mean to detract from the solid work of either director Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) or diminish David Arnold’s (current James Bond composer) original score. Nevertheless one just can’t help imagining how much better it could have been with the team’s regular director Edgar Wright behind the camera and a lovingly tongue-in-cheek John Williams theme tune!
