Paul

Paul

(2011)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) sci-fi comedy about two geeks whose pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland derails when they meet an alien called Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen). Cue an insane road trip that alters their universe forever.... More

For the past 60 years, Paul has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smart-ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town (which happens to be Graeme and Clive's RV). Chased by federal agents (including Jason Bateman) and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch an escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship.

Directed by Superbad's Greg Mottola, from a story by Pegg and Frost.Hide

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Flicks Review

There’s a telling scene halfway through Paul, which hopes to do to Spielberg’s aliens what Shaun Of The Dead did to Romero’s zombies, where Frost (fat) is upset with Pegg (ginger) for the ultimate geek betrayal: talking to girls. Long-term fans may feel a similar burn. Though funny, this Hot Fuzz follow-up directed by Superbad’s Greg Mottola shows the pair surrendering to Hollywood – think product placement, cheesy music cues, Saturday Night Live alumni – and watching your heroes feeding from the hand they used to bite (or at least nibble) makes for occasionally uneasy viewing.... More

Where previous efforts offered an embarrassment of riches, Paul feels overstuffed, a buddy-buddy-buddy movie with Pegg, Frost and Seth Rogen’s eponymous alien – plus love interest Kristen Wiig and glamourous gran Blythe Danner – being chased by Feds, religious nuts and angry rednecks. But they’re still missing a key player. Shaun and Fuzz director Edgar Wright’s endless invention whizzed us through the plot points; Mottola, meanwhile, hits them at cruising speed so we feel every bump.

In a sense, our heroes have written themselves out of their own movie. With the endless injokes, Rogen’s sweary, stonerish observations, plus an actual (if underwritten) romance, there’s no time to enjoy their trademark bromance. Paul still boasts more character and laughs per minute than most Hollywood efforts, but it’s an average Rogen/Mottola film rather than a good Pegg/Frost one. As UFO comedies go, it’s far from crash-and-burn, but nobody will be picking over the wreckage in years to come.Hide
  • Richard Chasm I LOVE TEH PAULZ ITZ TEH ORSUMZ AND ALL THAT STUFFZ
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  • what ever whatever
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The Peoples' Reviews

Average ratings from 16 ratings, 17 reviews
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Paul

Laughs are alien

BY adamatdramatrain superstar

Nice idea. Nice trailer. Falls flat on its big green headed alien face as a full length movie. Painfully obvious and almost totally devoid of laughs, originality, wit or much to say. Is it just me? Or is "Paul", just like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead," another "good idea" movie that would have worked far better and been far funnier as a half-hour episode of something like Pegg's excellent TV sit-com, "Spaced"? If... More you beep the bad language this is basically a kids film about a potty mouthed alien who is helped by two comic-book and sci-fi movie geeks. The nods to Spielberg, Lucas and a few sci-fi movies were fun but hardly made it either funny or bearable. But then again, I was unimpressed by "Shaun of the Dead" - nice title, dull movie - so what do I know? For me, true comedy is "Monty Python's Life of Brian," or Sami Rami's "Evil Dead 2" or Peter Jackson's "Braindead." This? This is just a middle-of-the-road-movie with a cute stoner alien CGI character, but we've seen Seth Rogan as an alien playing the far funnier character of Bob the Blob in "Monsters vs Aliens." Two yawn-inducing stars for Mr Pegg and Mr Frost :(Hide

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Amusing

BY mrsong nobody

I'm not a big fan of toilet humour movies, or of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, so I assumed I'd hate this one. Maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much... no expectation. It's funny and a perfect Friday night movie. Not sure why other reviews aren't so favourable. I think the thing I liked about it the most was that it was different. There's so many movies out there, it's hard to find a unique concept, and I think this had it. Thumbs up.

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Pleasantly surprised

BY Stuart-Bland superstar

To be honest I was actually quite surprised in that I actually enjoyed this. I suspected, much like all Pegg minus Wright movies, that this would be a charming, if rather unimpressive comedy thin on laughs and with a concept stretched to its limits. And while it's hardly going to break any barriers of the genre, I did actually find myself amused for it's length with a nice homage of sorts to the sci-fi greats of the past, mixed with a little of Pegg/ Frost's top notch ability to delight their... More audience with plenty of heart and a lot of raucous comedy. Rogen, surprisingly, also worked as the alien to two guys run into while on their great American road trip, with the comedic accents to his character evoking a character who has been ruined by years of western culture. At times the jokes felt a little repetitive, and it did seem to run out of steam after about an hour, but nevertheless, it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours, with enough references to keep a geek's attention maintained throughout.Hide

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Great

BY Olivia-Prasad superstar

Didn't think much of this movie going into it, but was very suprised at how good it was. The perfect combination of funny and light-hearted it was a great watch!

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wow what fun

BY Taylor-Wallis grader

I really enjoyed this movie. it was so funny & a lot more fun than I thought it would be. a lot of in jokes to other movies made it all the more enjoyable.

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Showing 5 of 17 reviews. See all reviews

The Press Reviews

71% of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

  • Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

    Here's a movie that teeters on the edge of being really pretty good and loses its way. Full Review

  • Dominion Post (Graeme Tuckett)

    It's a terrific idea, and Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and a stellar cast of - mostly - Saturday Night Live alumni come very close to making it into a terrific movie. Full Review

  • Empire (UK)

    Broader and more accessible than either Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz, Paul is pure Pegg and Frost - clever, cheeky and very, very funny. You'll never look at E. T. in the same way again. Full Review

  • Guardian (UK)

    Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are on disappointing form in a sci-fi comedy that never reaches the heights of Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz... Full Review

  • Hollywood Reporter

    Affectionate, funny and action-packed sci-fi spoof. Full Review

  • Total Film (UK)

    The geek brothers travel across the world only to find themselves. The resulting road movie is fondly indulgent rather than inspired, breezy but broad and indicative of treasured talents coasting. Full Review

The Talk
89 %

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  • ashlee I LOVE THIS MOVIE!! IT'S AWESOME!!
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    37 of 37
  • BUBBLES I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!
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    36 of 37
  • Eileen Dying to see this but not on in Chch!!
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    35 of 37
  • egyptian-blue It was a great movie to see...one of the best i've seen!
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    34 of 37
  • neecy watched this yesterday with the fams and its hilirious! :)
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    33 of 37
  • steph seeiing this in 2 yaayy!! looks hilar
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    32 of 37
  • wowee!!! ITL BE AWSOME AND HALERIOUS!I BET ANYWAYS!
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    31 of 37
  • marcelo i am seeing this 2morrew with some freinds it looks funny
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    30 of 37
  • JpFightNightKing Off to see it tonight PAUL! regardless of the relentless hollywood reviews, prob have no sci-fi background... BOOYA!
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    29 of 37
  • PETE PAUL SEEMS UGLY=)
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    28 of 37
  • fergie cant wait gonna be soo funny!!
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    27 of 37
  • gus e very good
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    26 of 37
  • Henz SOOOOO FUNI!!
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    25 of 37
  • ants what an AWESOME movie
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    24 of 37
  • LMatteson Cant wait to see this. If it's in line with HOT FUZZ it will be awesome
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    23 of 37
  • looky here think were seeing it tonight yaaaaaaaaaaaa
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    22 of 37
  • Red @Sam - hear hear! SNL, and their whole schtick is so unfunny. I've never got it.
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    21 of 37
  • Sam Reckon it would have been much better if it was made in the UK...without the Saturday Night Live crew.
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  • Sonya Unfortunately it was a case of all the funniest bits being in the trailer. Good, but not as funny as I thought it would be.
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    19 of 37
  • Kim Andrews How can you not want to see this movie after seeing the trailer!!!!!!!!!
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    18 of 37
  • ABCD Can't wait for this movie
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    17 of 37
  • Yuk Paul looks like a grey turd with eyes.
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    16 of 37
  • Ben This looks so good, so bad, so scary and so awesome!!! i CANT WAIT!!!!!!!!
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    15 of 37
  • Robbie Paul's going to be another Pegg/Frost cult movie man! I'm going I'm going I'm going
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    14 of 37
  • Jan Looks awesome. great actors. cant wait!
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    13 of 37
  • Eloise Interesting.......
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    12 of 37
  • E Schmee This classic is turn-your-brain-off stuff but enjoyable. Lots of known support actors. Loved the mention of Marmite too!
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    11 of 37
  • Sarah Boring and predictable. British comedy + American actors = BAD
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    10 of 37
  • AZZAroy sci fi geek heaven. brill. it's outta this world
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    9 of 37
  • pooos poly wants a big guy nick in a poly is yea do do dodo yea
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  • Kelvyn Can't wait!
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    7 of 37
  • Kate Looks hillarious!
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    6 of 37
  • Goodie Too Shoes looks dumb
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  • The Beast LOL
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  • Munga All your base are belong to us
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  • The_Chihuahua LOL... oh yeah, MA!
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  • Chris Murray looks awesome
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