British duo's wry sci-fi
By Jake Coyle |
April 3, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
EVEN among the countless variations of extraterrestrial species encountered in decades of sci-fi moviegoing, an alien who, when moved to depart, says, "Let's bounce," is a new breed.
Paul, the title character of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's latest genre comedy, is a sarcastic stoner steeped in pop culture and busting with well-timed, crude observations. In short, he is Seth Rogen.
Rogen is the voice of Paul - a CGI-created alien with green skin and big, glassy eyes - and it's difficult to ever forget that. Though Paul has powers of healing, invisibility and thought transfer, his defining characteristics aren't his exoticism, but his normalcy. He wears cargo shorts and digs Marvin Gaye.
When two unabashedly nerdy British sci-fi fanboys (Pegg and Frost) are brought face-to-face with the genuine article of their make-believe ardor on a US desert highway, they take Paul in on their tour.
Trailing him are a handful of agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio), with a higher-up (sci-fi queen Sigourney Weaver) sending commands from an unknown location.
Along the way, they encounter a Bible-thumping, gun-toting trailer-park nut (John Carroll Lynch) and his equally religious one-eyed daughter Ruth (the wonderful Kristen Wiig) and religious and redneck satires ensue.
It's the first time Pegg and Frost, who also wrote the film, have set a film in America or worked with director Greg Mottola ("Superbad," "Adventureland"). The result is an interesting mix of British and American comedy (Jeffrey Tambor and Jane Lynch also make cameos) that mostly comes off amiably and consistently funny.
Such has been the stock in trade of Pegg and Frost, whose "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" both satirized their genres (zombie and action films, respectively) while simultaneously celebrating them.
"Paul" does that for science-fiction, but falls closer to mere spoof than something of its own, too.
Still, after the soulless shoot-'em-up "Battle: Los Angeles," it's nice to find a sci-fi adventure where aliens aren't feared, but are just like us: Foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed and helpless when it comes to Marvin Gaye.
Paul, the title character of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's latest genre comedy, is a sarcastic stoner steeped in pop culture and busting with well-timed, crude observations. In short, he is Seth Rogen.
Rogen is the voice of Paul - a CGI-created alien with green skin and big, glassy eyes - and it's difficult to ever forget that. Though Paul has powers of healing, invisibility and thought transfer, his defining characteristics aren't his exoticism, but his normalcy. He wears cargo shorts and digs Marvin Gaye.
When two unabashedly nerdy British sci-fi fanboys (Pegg and Frost) are brought face-to-face with the genuine article of their make-believe ardor on a US desert highway, they take Paul in on their tour.
Trailing him are a handful of agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio), with a higher-up (sci-fi queen Sigourney Weaver) sending commands from an unknown location.
Along the way, they encounter a Bible-thumping, gun-toting trailer-park nut (John Carroll Lynch) and his equally religious one-eyed daughter Ruth (the wonderful Kristen Wiig) and religious and redneck satires ensue.
It's the first time Pegg and Frost, who also wrote the film, have set a film in America or worked with director Greg Mottola ("Superbad," "Adventureland"). The result is an interesting mix of British and American comedy (Jeffrey Tambor and Jane Lynch also make cameos) that mostly comes off amiably and consistently funny.
Such has been the stock in trade of Pegg and Frost, whose "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" both satirized their genres (zombie and action films, respectively) while simultaneously celebrating them.
"Paul" does that for science-fiction, but falls closer to mere spoof than something of its own, too.
Still, after the soulless shoot-'em-up "Battle: Los Angeles," it's nice to find a sci-fi adventure where aliens aren't feared, but are just like us: Foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed and helpless when it comes to Marvin Gaye.
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