Review of Paul (2011) by Lewis E — 08 Apr 2013

Thank the stars that they didn't completely rely on the limited comedy of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as none of my laughs came from them. It felt as if they were representing British comedy in front of America's well known funny men...and they flopped hard. 'Shaun of the Dead' shocked me because it was actually not terrible but after 'Hot Fuzz' and now 'Paul', it is clear that the duo are one trick ponies. Luckily, Seth Rogen saves the day as the voice of Paul the alien, his general demeanour often humorous. Rogen, and to a lesser extent the other two actors from 'Superbad', make this film bearable. I know not attributing any credit to Pegg/Frost could be considered unfair since they wrote the material but it appeared that the Superbad trio made them funny, the film would have been a lost cause without their wacky styles.

The ending can be predicted from two planets away let alone a mile away. And was Kristen Wiig suppose to be funny by shouting out random spurts of profanity? Virtually useless in adding to the comedy aspect, only serving as the mandatory love interest. You can see that the adventure in helping this alien return home has potential for sci-fi related puns/gags and character's finding themselves in comical situations but the majority of the jokes just lack quality. 'Paul' would have done better with more eccentric comedians in the two lead roles, however it is common occurrence that writers want to star in their own productions. Leave it to the pros next time fellas!