Review of Paul (2011) by Emod L — 22 Sep 2014

You should have seen my husband's face when I told him I had watched this one. We both like Simon Pegg, and we're both sci-fi fans; but we're both also a bit turned off by senseless, slapstick comedy.

I guess my curiosity got the better of me, and I wanted to see if this alien spoof was really as bad as we had imagined. My verdict? Nowhere close.

Yes, there are definitely some comedic moments that had me rolling my eyes. The swearing (most of it done by the alien Paul himself), was profoundly over the top. It fell more on the parody side of things than I usually prefer, it's true; and yet there was a warmth and satisfaction to it that I haven't felt since "Mac and Me" (a film that was actually mentioned by Nick Frost's character in the movie).

Unfortunately, this isn't a family film. Too much bad language and adult content for that. I find it a shame really, as kids would have appreciated the comedy element.

I wouldn't rush to see this one, but if you have an afternoon to waste it needn't be all bad.