Paul

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Paul, with Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead fame, green aliens, and tributes to Spielberg, is a movie where all the right elements go wrong. I was going to pass on Paul until I saw the trailer which was pretty funny so off I went to see the whole 100 minute expanded trailer. Quick synopsis - aliens do exist, one was caught, developed a side job, escaped, and wound up partnering with two SF geeks straight from Comic-Con who then agree to help Paul go home. What I learned in this movie is that one-liners and tributes to SF fandom do not a good movie make.

Rated R for profanity which wasn't that effective as a comedic tool, Paul has a few laughs, some smiles if you're a SF fan and two guys on a road trip with the usual jokes.  The best part of the movie for me was the Comic-Con sequences, filmed on location at the con. The only person laughing in the theater was the one pre-teen boy and had this movie toned down the language and gone PG-13 it would have reached a more appreciative audience. Sadly, I think Paul is a miss for Simon Pegg as much as I wanted to like the movie, I didn't.

Paul is only for Simon Pegg fans and SF fans. And apparently 8 - 10 year old boys.  SF fans, settle for finding the tribute jokes, some are blatant others less so but about the only thing worth watching in the movie.  Non-science fiction fans, this movie is not for you. Stay away.

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