Paul

I don't think it would be fair to compare "Paul" to "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." Sure, all three star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the leading roles, but the last two examples are top-ranking masterpieces of modern comedic cinema. "Paul" is nothing near that level of zing or wit, but it's fun for what it is. To compare it to its peers would be like pinning a Chihuahua in a fight against two ferocious Rottweilers. It wouldn't win, but it's still cute and cuddly.

Pegg and Frost are this time not joined by their usual collaborator, genius director/co-writer Edgar Wright ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"). Instead, the man in the director's chair is Greg Mottola of "Superbad" fame, whose American sense of humour (sorry, humor) clashes with the two stars' British sensibilities.

However, this is very much the English pair's project -- they did write it together, after all. And seeing as to how they're both "Star Wars" fanboys, it makes sense that their first team-up with a typewriter would be a sci-fi flick. They star as Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost), a couple of nerdy best buds from the UK who are fluent in Klingon.

They're trekking (ha!) across America in an RV, starting from the San Diego Comic Con and then going from one alien hot-spot to the next. What they didn't expect was to run into a real-life extra-terrestrial just outside of Area 51 -- especially not one who smokes pot and dances to reggae music.

This is Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen, "The Green Hornet"), a bug-eyed, grey-skinned, bird-eating little space-dweller who crashes his car on the highway just beside Graeme and Clive. He's on the run from the government and asks the couple of geeks to help him get back to his home planet. "I dunno, we're on quite a tight schedule," Graeme whimpers.

They take him and set off on an adventure that was much more explosive than Graeme and Clive were anticipating. On their cross-country trip, they practically kidnap trailer-park attendant Ruth (Kristen Wiig, "Adventureland"), whose strict father (John Carroll Lynch, "Zodiac") chases after them. Meanwhile, Special Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman, "The Switch"), Agent Haggard (Paul Hader, "Superbad") and Agent O'Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio, "Pineapple Express") are close on Paul's usually-exposed ass.

The character of Paul is a delight. He's a rude, crude, foul-mouthed little dude with an X-rated tongue and a keen taste for marmite. He's smart, he's cool, he's laid-back, and he's pretty darn huggable, making Rogen's voice a perfect match with the characterisation. The "Observe and Report" actor gives a sense of warmth and lewdness to the E.T. look-alike, making him seem like the kind of "guy" you'd want to chug a few beers with.

The computer animation used on the chuckling alien is mostly convincing, the interaction between he and his human companions handled well. He may look a bit cartoonish, but the rest of the film isn't exactly realistic, either. It's better than the CGI/live-action hybrid in "Five Children and It," anyway.

Pegg and Frost delve into their jam-packed barrel of on-screen chemistry here, leading an ensemble cast alongside their inhuman new pal. They're fitting in the roles of two outcast squares without resorting to extra-thick spectacles, asthma inhalers or teeth-smothering braces. They're just fan-fiction dweebs who you'd find lurking around in your local Forbidden Planet, their mouths frothing at the nerdy surroundings. They're like an exaggerated version of yours truly.

The supporting cast is lovely and merry, playing characters who are a bit out-of-this-world. Wiig is a creationist whose entire belief system is shattered upon setting eyes on Paul's otherworldly figure, causing her to lose her faith and want to sin and curse. Bateman is menacing as a straight-faced, no-nonsense agent tracking down an alien under the orders of an unseen woman. And Hader and Truglio are jovial as two somewhat incompetent agents who are shocked to discover why their mission is so hush-hush.

Celebrity cameos are aplenty, from Blythe Danner to Jane Lynch, and Sigourney Weaver to Jeffrey Tambor. It's because of this that the film feels a bit lazy -- it relies slightly too much on cameo after cameo, and seems almost convoluted with so many throw-away characters swung into the mix.

Pegg and Frost's script also slumps back on several occasions, falling into the "swearing is funny" and "movie references are smart" pits far too often. It's true, Paul's vulgar profanity can be a source of some decent laughs and the Star Trek/Wars nudges can raise a smile or two, but these cards are still played a little too much. Their writing isn't quite sharp enough to keep going back to crassness and in-jokes, but they do manage to supply some good gags here and there.

"Paul" is undoubtedly not up to Pegg and Frost's usual wittier-than-witty standards when they work with Edgar Wright, but it's amusing and should go down well with your popcorn. It's a lively mish-mash of American wisecracking slapped with United Kingdom hoopla, making for a sci-fi road movie that's silly and occasionally clever. Still, the film is missing a Wright hand.

7/10