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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Paul


Nerds all over rejoice-Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back. The two are poster boys all over the world for geek culture; two regular guys from the Midlands done good. In fact this is a part of their appeal for many, including myself. They are relatable guys you could easily imagine having a pint with. Of course the fact that they are very talented also adds to the appeal. They perfectly mix influence and homage from their many icons with great storytelling. Every joke and winking nod to pop culture feels like it was designed specifically for me. You feel apart of their outlook because they themselves are geeks and wear it proudly like a badge of honor. Today, that badge is "Paul", their first film writing together and as you might expect from the two, it offers in-joke, after knowing gag, after spoof, after homage to many of their favourite science fiction films. Unfortunately something is missing from the team. That person is Edgar Wright, the director and brains behind their previous classics "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz". After taking a brief break from each other to work on some solo projects (Wright: 'Scott Pilgrim', Pegg and Frost: 'Paul') before they complete their seminal 'blood and ice-cream trilogy', the lads handed over the gig to Greg Mottola. Veteran of "Superbad" and "Adventureland", with "Paul" he finds himself stretching his directing muscles, being that the film is effects heavy and high on adventure; something his previous films (even the misleadingly titled "Adventureland") lacked. As a result, the film feels like the perfect hybrid of the two; Peggs and Frosts unique British comedy sensibilities and pop culture nods, and Mottolas gorgeous, all American vision mixed with his lucky charm actors, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader. However, for all its fun and humour, "Paul" finds the two desperately missing Wrights cinematic vision and assured writing. It is a problem that the film fails to break out of for most of its running time.

The film finds two life long friends Clive (Nick Frost) and Graeme (Simon Pegg) on a road trip through America. Life long sci-fi fanatics, their tour of old alien sites is given an authentic boost when real life alien Paul (Seth Rogen) shows up asking them to protect him from hot on his heel agents. Of course the alien here is entirely CG, something that could have been the complete undoing of the film for everybody involved. However, what could have been to the films downfall is actually the films biggest success. Paul is an absolute perfect creation and completely believable throughout. Using Seth Rogens voice was masterstroke; here he is funnier than anything he's been attached to in quite a while. The foul mouthed, weed smoking, smart arsed guy is the films strongest suit, and offers most of its amusing moments. Able support is given by (funniest woman alive) Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader, Jason Bateman and Joe Lo Truglio. However, despite its very talented and funny cast, the film never fully gets off the ground. Mottola shoots his love letter to Spielberg very well and events build suitably to its exciting and action packed climax. Despite the copious amount of references to the genre the film is surprisingly broad. I'm sure with all the money going in to making Paul (the character) a success, Pegg and Frost did this intentionally. To risk alienating the majority of their audience could have have sign posted that "Paul" might not have been the box office success it was this week. Put simply they have their core geek friendly fans, those who will show up based on the Pegg/Frost brand alone. But it would not be enough for box-office, so subtlety and genuinely clever and original gags go out the window. The film is great fun, and sorely needed after the last few po-faced Oscar weeks, but when we have learned to expect so much more from these two, then why should we settle for less?

Verdict: 7/10
A very humorous and entertaining film, and with a classic CG character to boot. Just don't go in expecting it to scale to the dizzying heights of either Shaun or Fuzz.

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