Paul

Directed by: Greg Mottola
Released: UK 14 Feb 2011, USA 18 Mar 2011
Starring: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Bll Hader, Jane Lynch, Seth Rogen



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He said:

If I am completely honest I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the first trailer for Paul. As much as I have enjoyed Frost and Pegg onscreen in the past (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) I had assumed that the films were as good as they were because of Edgar Wright calling the shots behind the scenes. Luckily the boys found themselves in capable hands of writer-turned-director Greg Mottola (who directed Superbad and wrote and directed Adventureland)

Paul plays towards its target demographic (14-31 year old males) with its penis jokes and toilet humor without any apologies. The film was co written by Pegg and Frost and is in no uncertain terms an often brilliant lampooning of pop culture from the last thirty years, including Mac and Me which I thoroughly enjoyed as a child but doesn't get nearly as much mention in pop culture as E.T.

Funny side note: (I embarrassed my wife and her parents when I stood up during a climactic scene and shouted along with a character a line that I had been holding my breath in hopes they would take the obviously well laid bait, and then applauded them for doing so.) I am not one that normally encourages outbursts in the cinema, but I am only human.

That isn't to say that this is a geek film, Helen's parents both enjoyed it as much as I did. The story is well written and the pace is spot on. While this film isn't solely a parody there are a lot of winks and nods at other well known alien encounter films from start to finish. I enjoyed this film and give it {{{4.5 out of 5}}}

She said:

If you haven't guessed it by now James and I are kind of nerdy. And with the masses of pop culture references and sci-fi pastiche in Paul nerds are exactly the people who this film is aimed at. I particularly enjoyed a voice cameo by Steven Spielberg and the very fact that Sigourney Weaver is in the film at all makes me happy.

As usual Pegg and Frost's hilarious bromance chemistry won the audience over. While I didn't enjoy this film as much as Shaun of the Dead I did enjoy it much more than Hot Fuzz. Unlike James I wasn't worried about the lack of Edgar Wright but I was concerned about Seth Rogen playing Paul (probably because the last thing I saw him in was The Green Hornet and... oh God the memories, cry). However his voice acting worked really well and funnily enough I found Paul a rather believable creature.

I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys really nerdy, laugh out loud funny comedies. It helps if you have a love of pop culture so you can pick up the references but even without this the story is great. As James said the plot is well paced and keeps your attention well. I give this film {{{4 out of 5}}}

They Said: A perfect celebration of alien sci-fi pop culture with moments that will make you cringe and moments that will make you double up with laughter. We give this film {{{8.5 out of 10}}}