Paul

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have got themselves quite a large following after the success of 'Hot Fuzz,' 'Shaun of the Dead,' and the TV series 'Spaced.' Now they are in part sci-fi, rom-com, bromance 'Paul' which centres around the ultra geeks Graeme and Clive, played by Pegg and Frost, as they meet and subsequently help an Alien, voiced by Seth Rogen, called Paul.


Sounds great. Pegg, Frost, Rogen, Sci-fi. Comedy. It should be great but I can only go as far as saying it's fine. Firstly I believe that Frost and Pegg are at their best when playing to a nieche audience and this film is definately not nieche, with fart jokes and random swearing all over the place it's the broad demographic fan's wet dream. Yes it has plenty of obscure sci fi references to keep the fan boys happy but this doesn't work as well when they are sandwiched between Kristen Wiig vomiting out expletives.


Secondly, as far as main characters go, Graeme and Clive are pretty wet. I understand that they're nerds, a group not known for their strong and confident personalities, but do they both need to be so soft? Look at the range of geek personalities in 'The Big Bang Theory' for example. Fortunately the character of Paul balances this out with his dry sense of humour and quick wit. I didn't expect to like Paul as I find Seth Rogen's voice and general sense of humour a bit grating but i was surprised, but happily so, by his more laid back and toned down portrayal and I would go as far as saying he is the best thing about the film.


Thirdly and my final negative about the film. I didn't like the jokes aimed at Creationism. I am not a Creationist or have any strong religious beliefs but these jokes are easy jokes to make, I could see that they wanted to be insightful and subtle but they'don't come across that way. They hit you like a sledgehammer and aren't particularly original. Also, there aren't that many people who believe in Creationism so essentially these jokes are poking fun at a minority, which isn't really that fair. It all feels a bit smug and I don't feel it's an issue that needs a lot of attention.


There are positives, don't worry. There are some very funny parts and a great supporting cast with appearances from Jason Bateman, Jane Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader and the guy with the squeeky voice from 'I Love you COMMA Man.' The script is also very sharp and in a lot of places is very smartley written by Pegg and Frost and like I said before Seth Rogen does a great job.


To conclude, this was a hollywood backed film. Whereas in the past Frost and Pegg had more indepencdance this time they had to make comprimises in order to increase its appeal at the box office. This is where the film falls down for me. Maybe slightly selfish but i want a Frost/Pegg film to be made with me in mind. I dont want Mr. B. Demographic stealing laughs that should have been aimed at me. Good but not great, probably not as broad as I have made it out to be but too broad for a Frost/Pegg.