Paul – movie review

What reason was there not to want to watch Paul? It had an amazing cast attached and was about a smart-mouthed alien. I thought it would be a perfect movie, and it really was – almost.

Paul was full of alien pop culture as well as other movie references, and it worked well. The Cantina Song from Star Wars accents a bar scene, for example, and Paul has a fondness for Reese’s Pieces. As is par for the course in many alien movies, Area 51 is real and a major threat. The entire cast worked well together, keeping both the action and the comedy high. The movie has no low points, but it did have a fault – at least it did if you are an Arrested Development fan. Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Bateman were both in the movie, but the two never shared a scene together.

Seth Rogen was the voice of the titular Paul, which he says is a “nickname that stuck.” Paul is a little rude, but he’s really just a normal guy who happens to be an alien, which he tries to teach to his new Earth friends. Paul is intelligent and has no patience for stupid people. He’s also into pop culture references, but then again, there is a reason for that. Rogen was such a perfect voice for Paul. He really gives Paul the qualities that we can relate to despite the fact that he’s not of this world.

Simon Pegg is Graeme, the writer, and Nick Frost is Clive, the artist. They’re two friends on holiday in America to go to Comic Con and visit all the known alien sites. It’s really hard to not write about them together, because even when they’re not together, they’re affected by one another. Clive is at times jealous of Graeme because the latter gets along better with Paul at first, and Ruth, the woman they accidentally kidnap, develops a crush on Graeme. However, the two get along really well, and they have a great chemistry with the rest of their group.

Kristen Wiig is Ruth Buggs, a fundamentalist Christian that believes the world is only 4000 years old who is accidentally kidnapped when she discovers Paul. As a fundamentalist Christian, she drives everyone nuts by trying to claim that Paul is a demon, and Paul decides to force enlighten her, which turns out to be hilarious. Now that she’s been freed, she wants to do a lot of things she couldn’t do before, including swearing. She is very bad at swearing. Wiig is just fun to watch on screen as her character starts to develop into who she actually is.

Jason Bateman plays Agent Zoil, and he is set to find Paul before he can leave Earth. Agent Zoil is my new favorite Bateman character. He is just so bad-ass and has such an authority as he carries big guns and points them at everyone who gets in his way. Zoil is also full of surprises. If there is no other reason to watch the movie, it is to see Bateman as Zoil. As much as I would love to go on forever about him, it would spoil a major plot point.

Bill Hader is Haggard, who serves as  a foil for Zoil. Haggard is a rookie agent who wants to move up the ranks, and he feels that stealing this case from under Zoil will be just the way to do that. Haggard is also certifiably crazy, and for some reason, crazy is something Hader does well. At first, you want to be on Haggard’s side, though, until you realize he’s a little unhinged and that this cannot end well for anybody.

The movie also had actors in smaller roles that are worth commenting on. Jeffrey Tambor plays Adam Shadowchild, a writer who is in the movie bookends. Graeme and Clive are fans of Adam Shadowchild, but he’s a bit jaded, so he blows them off. At the end, however, he does a 180, and it’s comedic to see him try to associate himself with them and have security interfere. Jane Lynch is Pat Stevens, a waitress at a restaurant near Area 51. She also returns at the end of the movie. As a waitress, she mixes sweet and sassy, and at the end her scene with Wiig is insanely giggle-worthy. Blythe Danner was Tara. Tara found Paul when she was a little girl, and Paul tries to repay her for her help now that she’s older. Tara has some really messed up priorities, though, and it’s just funny to watch.

Paul is a great movie. I want to watch it a few more times, just to see if I picked up on all the pop culture references. It has an hilarious cast, there are no down moments, and its only flaw was the missed Arrested Development moment. I highly recommend it.