The Unfathomable Delirium An online repository of my informal writing

And now the review. 

Photo taken here

British best buds and sci-fi geeks Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) travel to America to attend the Comic-Con and to see different geeky places (i.e. sets of various sci-fi movies). While they were driving off with their RV, trying to escape some hillbillies whose truck they accidentally dented, they saw a car crash. They stopped to see what happened, but instead of seeing injured bodies, they met Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), an alien.

Paul is a foul-mouthed alien who apparently has been under the guard of the U.S. government since his inadvertent landing in 1947. Paul asks, upon meeting the duo, to give him a lift to somewhere you would not be told about until later in the movie (a hint though: a rendezvous for Paul's departure). Graeme and Clive agreed, and travelled with Paul and Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig), a woman they kidnapped (well, it’s kind of a long story) from the motor park. The catch is that an FBI agent in the name of Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman) and two neophyte agents (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio) are hunting for Paul. Adding up to the chase is Ruth’s religious father.

I hope you know where this premise steers the movie at—to a pretty formulaic comic chase. And of course, a truly happy ending.

When I first saw the trailer of the film back in 2010, I know I had to watch it because it has the Pegg-Frost tandem in it. But later on, as I waited for its showing (see previous post), I also fell smitten to other cast members as I enjoyed their performances in other shows/movies I’ve seen during the wait (e.g. I saw a lot of Jason Bateman in Arrested Development this summer). Ultimately, the film’s ensemble cast became an even more perfect treat for me, and that’s why I was looking forward to seeing Paul so much.

So did the movie meet my expectations? Pretty much. It wasn’t so great, but it was cute and fun like every Pegg-Frost film is. It has a really enjoyable plot, which wasn’t complicated at all. The alien Paul was also a winner (Seth Rogen was perfect for it, really), what with his cheekiness and very clever lines. I also loved Kristen Wiig, because a lot of the most memorable scenes from the movie were hers. I especially liked the one where she just suddenly knelt in front of Paul and sang “Amazing Grace” like the religious woman that she was. Also, she’s an overall funny actress.

There’s not a lot of new things with Paul. Aside from the smart way geeky references were mixed in, I don’t think there’s more to it than the comedy from the characters. Another thing I’ve noticed is that it kind of used its running gags a little too much. I am all for inside joke-ish kind of comedy, but the ones in Paul could get tiring, especially if you’re not one for repetition. Gags about Ruth’s new habit to curse and the creature with three tits on the cover of Clive’s book (which was “awesome”) are some of the recurring jokes in the movie.

Anyway, I still loved the movie. I enjoyed it so much. Maybe the fact that I’ve waited for it so long and that I’ve been through a lot just to see it told me that I had to appreciate it whatever happens. Or maybe it was just really enjoyable.