Two British nerds (Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who also wrote the script) traveling across the U.S. in a rented RV to check out UFO landmarks find a pot-smoking, foul-mouthed alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) on the run from mysterious men in black.
This geekfest crams in tons of sci-fi references and quotes many classics (from Star Wars to Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Alien). That’s Pegg and Frost’s contribution. Director Greg Mottola (Superbad) brings Apatowian gags about boobs, balls, and anal probes, as well as the movie’s central bromance.
Paul isn’t as funny as the filmmakers’ other movies, but there are still plenty of laughs, many involving Kristen Wiig’s newly liberated religious nut. And there’s a great cast (including Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Sigourney Weaver). But the story is standard stuff about a stranded alien who just wants to go home. Basically, it’s E.T. with dick jokes. --Michael Gallucci
