A joint UK-US fanboy venture which is simply an R-rated version of ET. The Brits Pegg and Frost provide the writing, acting and inspiration. American director Mottola of Superbad keeps it in a setting, package and pace more digestible for the wider US-based audience as opposed to Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead: both are great movies, they’re probably just seen as too “British” by Hollywood.
I’m not going to belabor the story since the commercials/trailers cover it so the only point in seeing Paul would be for the details, execution and dirty jokes.
Did I enjoy this? As a Sci-Fi fan who was familiar with all the major references…the answer is rather obvious. I’m ashamed that Somara figured out the one for Escape to Witch Mountain long before I thought of it. I just knew the RV the Brits drive had some nagging significance; I kept getting stuck with Dusk ’til Dawn. I did find Seth Rogen doing the voice of the titular character a tad boring because he’s overexposed and pretty much the same character he plays in everything else I’ve seen (Knocked Up, Superbad). In Rogen’s defense, I can’t come up with a better choice right now. Sigourney Weaver’s presence was great, she has an impressive Sci-Fi resume beyond the Alien franchise. Blythe Danner I’m not sure about. Other than appearing on a episode of The X-Files, I’ll have to take a guess and go with Futureworld for explaining why she was in this. Initially, I mistook her for Susan Sarandan but realized I was wrong as my brain completed its inventory of facial features, namely Gwyneth Paltrow’s eyes.
Is it funny? I was amused by the run-of-the-mill toilet humor, the fish-out-of-water stuff (Redneck Americans think the English are all gay) and the jabs at the San Diego Comic Convention. I don’t recall laughing out loud which few comedies succeed at doing. I was probably too busy trying to catch all the tributes to heavy hitters in the genre it’s paying homage to: Star Wars, Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, Aliens, Predator, X-Files, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mac & Me and Back to the Future.
Worth Seeing? When it’s released on DVD, Streaming and/or Cable is my endorsement. There’s nothing a movie theater can add to the experience. We took it in with a friend at Alamo Drafthouse. I was hoping the growing, legendary (Entertainment Weekly sings the place’s praises) cinema would show Sci-Fi-related clips to get the mood going. Instead it was a barrage of comedy bits from Pegg and Frost’s skit show. They were good. The problem is that every other comic actor has had this type of program on the BBC: French & Saunders, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, etc.