This weekend I went to the movies for the first time in a very long time, and it was to see "Paul", the new movie from the brain trust of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost that brought us "Shaun of the Dead".Long story short, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard in a movie theater or continued to talk about a movie with my friends so long after the credits rolled.
"Paul" is the story of a couple of English tourists (Pegg and Frost) on a hunt for famous American UFO sightings. Being the "believers" they are, they candidly discuss what it would be like to actually meet an alien at one of the sites and to be the first human diplomat. Well, pretty soon they pick up an unlikely hitchhiker in a space alien trying to get home, voiced by Seth Rogen.
So, they set out, homeward bound in a rented Winnebago to get Paul home. All the while, they are being chased by government agents, set on bring Paul in.
Agent Zoyle, played by an always awesome Jason Bateman, is joined by two in-the-dark lackeys, Haggard and O'Reilly, played by the hilarious SNL alum Bill Hader and rising star Joe Lo Truglio (best known for backing over Jonah Hill in "Superbad").
Now, I'm a big sci-fi geek and love a good stoner comedy, but the main thing that made me apprehensive about this flick was the inclusion of Rogen. His brand of comedy has become so stale and unchanging since "Knocked Up". Well, I was wrong. Rogen was by far the best part of the movie, a mix of the warm-hearted and goofball stoner, that kept the audience wanting more.
One final thing of note was the brilliant joint of comedy teams in this film. The "Shaun of the Dead" guys, a large sum of the "Arrested Development" crew, including cameo's by Jeffrey Tambour and Jane Lynch. These are all great groups of comic actors and it was even better to see them all work together.
If you're a fan of Pegg and Frost's previous work or just love a good comedy, check out "Paul" immediately. You shan't regret it.
No comments:
Post a Comment