To say I watched the film Paul (2011) the other day is probably an overstatement. More like, I put it on in the background while doing other things around the house. From what I saw, though, that was the right approach. This horribly titled film is pretty mediocre. It’s about a couple of British skiffy nerds (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, doing their thang) who follow up a trip to Comic-Con in San Diego with a cross-country trip to various American UFO hotspots. Along the way, of course, they stumble into the path of a little green alien named Paul (annoyingly voiced by Seth Rogen) and help him escape from the men in black.
There are some promising comedic elements here, but it really just doesn’t come together. Ultimately the only reason to watch is the cast: Pegg, Frost, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, and company elevate the iffy script to the best of their ability. But Rogen is fatal voice-casting for the alien, the comedy is fairly broad, the jokes are blah, and, well, there’s just not much there, there. It could have been worse, but mostly this just felt like a waste of talent.
