There's something important that needs to be acknowledged, however. All of those ships were captained by the great Edgar Wright, who has proven his success rate goes beyond his Brit-happy bread and butter with the superb Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. In turn, Pegg and Frost made a film without their famed director. That film is Paul, the 2011 film with a director that goes by the name of Greg Mottola. Nope, me neither. But he has a decent record of directing comedy, with Superbad and some episodes of Arrested Development under his belt. So does this intrepid sci-fi adventure match the dizzying heights set by its genre busting spiritual predecessors?
Hahaha, not even close.
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| "Only human...and some iffy CGI." |
The overall story for Paul reeks of self-indulgence, a script written by two nerds bringing their boyhood fantasy to life because they're rich and important enough to do so. Which I wouldn't mind so much, if it hadn't cost 40 million dollars to make, an astounding ten times more than it cost to make Shaun of the Dead. And I'm not stretching to hyperbole with that teenage nerd analogy, this film has it all. Gratuitous sexy cosplay, too many jokes to mention where a curse word is the punchline, poop humour, genital cracks, some EDGY~~ shots at Christianity's expense, Sigourney Weaver complete with Alien references, the works. It's cringe-worthy, not necessarily because of how bad it is, there are certainly worse stories out there, but because of how blatantly they sacrifice good humour and character development, in favour of fulfilling their own geeky desires. It's almost as if this was never meant for worldwide release, and was just something for Pegg and Frost to bust out at parties to impress friends that aren't really friends. "Oh, that's cool news about your new Audi your mum bought you Chad Hogan, but I met Jason Bateman, and here's the movie to prove it! Bada boom, coolest guys in the room! Now, who wants to see my Scotty outfit?"
Even the performances are reminiscent of some lame sitcom plot about adults humiliating themselves to keep the hopes and dreams of the wide eyed, smart-ass kid alive. I was half expecting Superman and the Holiday Armadillo to show up at various points. Pegg and Frost act like a couple of college kids with a video camera, pissing about in their dad's motorhome, screaming and making silly faces for the camera. There is the odd moment when Bateman appears to stray from his - albeit very well played and successful - one note style and look like an actual villain, but he swiftly returns to looking and acting like regular Jason Bateman, only a bit constipated and his eyes hurt. I feel genuinely sad for Kristen Wiig, who probably gets both the worst character and the worst dialogue in the film, especially sad when knowing what a talented screenwriter she is, she likely could have whipped the script into something decent in half an hour or so. Seth Rogen is Seth Rogen, in a time when he was at his most over-saturated in the movie business, his voice is likable enough, I guess, but doesn't add too much character to Paul, since all you can think when he talks is 'I wonder how much Seth Rogen got paid for doing this'. Really, the only performance I seriously enjoy is Sigourney Weaver, who's on screen for a total of one 10 minute scene before being squished by a UFO. I'll admit, it is pretty cool seeing her in a sci-fi flick again, referencing Alien in a subtle-ish way while still being a badass in her own right. That's the kind of nerd fan service this film should have had throughout, instead of toilet humour and "Star Wars, amiright" moments that people that have never even watched Star Wars could come up with. The only clever moment in the entire film is when Paul reveals he's been the brains behind every sci-fi film ever, but it's over so quick you barely have time to appreciate it. If only he'd beseech-ed some of his expertise onto this sci-fi deflation.
How do you get a movie full of people I love (seriously, I love every actor here in pretty much everything else they've ever done) and have me not enjoy it? Easy. Be lazy. Paul might never have lived up to the expectations of the Edgar Wright movies, but it could at least have been a fitting tribute to sci-fi enthusiasts everywhere, and not just enforcing a suit and cool guy's interpretation of what a nerd is.
What happened to you, Simon? You used to not be cool.
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