With the Middle East in turmoil and Japan triple-whammied with problems, the whole world could use a laugh right about now. Thankfully, the new sci-fi comedy “Paul” is arriving in theatres Friday, packing more laughs per minute than almost any movie in the past decade – along with great performances, inventive twists and a sweet core of silly fun.
Written by and starring British comics Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, the dynamic duo behind the brilliant cult hits “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” “Paul” centers on two nerdy British tourists named Clive (Frost) and Graeme (Pegg) who have come to America to visit the sci-fi nerd mecca of Comic-Con before driving an RV across the US to visit sites where alien encounters have allegedly occurred. Even they realize that they’re just being silly, and there’s no way they’ll ever encounter a real alien – until a car races around them in the dead of night before careening off the highway and exploding.
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Looking for human survivors, they instead encounter a surly, wisecracking, dope-smoking alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen in one of the best voiceover performances I’ve ever heard) who’s on the run from federal secret agents (Jason Bateman and Sigourney Weaver) that he believes are out to kill him. Paul took his name from the dog his spaceship crushed when it crash-landed in rural Wyoming in 1947, and he’s spent the past 60-plus years being questioned at the clandestine Area 51 for his advanced alien insights and technological know-how.
Paul is just desperate to stay on the run and alive, but things keep getting more complicated as junior federal agents (Bill Hader and Thomas Lennon) get roped into the chase, and the on-the-lam trio also pick up a fundamentalist Christian named Ruth (Kristen Wiig) who’s desperate to make a getaway of her own: from her repressive life managing a desert RV park with her Bible-thumping father (John Carroll Lynch).
“Paul” is literally a wonder to behold, a smile and laugh-inducing romp from start to finish that is rated “R” for some profanity and a few dope-smoking scenes but which has such an inherent good-natured vibe that teens and even the children of liberal-minded parents should be allowed to enjoy it as well. Director Greg Mottola (“Superbad,” “Adventureland”) displays the best of his strengths from both those prior films as he weaves frenetically funny action scenes with revealing emotional moments that steer clear of sappiness.
Aside from its vast surface charms, the film’s brilliant script and perfect casting includes hilarious cameos from the likes of Jane Lynch, David Koechner, Jeffrey Tambor and in the most truly inspired gag, the voice of Steven Spielberg himself. Pay close attention and you’ll find countless sly references to other classic alien films, including the fact that Weaver is fighting an alien again in a completely different fashion than her epic turns as Ripley in the “Alien” series of films.
One big caveat to Christian viewers is the fact that Ruth and her father’s characters are played for laughs, as they dive right into stereotypical jokes as gun-toting creationists who believe the world is just 4,000 years old. She has never drank, swore, kissed a man or traveled outside her limited desert radius – all aspects that are quickly rectified as she hits the road with the gang.
Yet she’s also depicted as having an inherently sweet innocence that is respected, and at one point Paul expresses sadness that he’s shaken her faith. He also invokes Scripture respectfully when he talks her into letting him use his healing powers to cure a lifelong eye problem in one of the film’s more serious moments.
I complained about the fact that last fall’s sharp comedy “Easy A” was painfully stereotypical in its depiction of Christian teens as moralistic harpies, but many responded by saying that they were fine with that film’s portrayal since many Christian teens are actually often overly judgmental of their peers.
Since “Paul” is so funny in every other respect and doesn’t seem as hateful as I found that aspect of “Easy A” to be, I think that most Christians should be able to laugh a little bit at themselves through this role. I mean, if you’re there, you’re already sitting in a movie about a profane, dope-smoking alien.
Hopefully, American audiences won’t be dissuaded by the fact the film stars Pegg and Frost, who are relatively unknown here. These are two men who are long overdue for a major break here, and if audiences give this movie a shot, it could well become a word-of-mouth sensation.
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