My hubby and I were looking forward to seeing "Paul". We thought Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz were hysterical (especially for the great performance of Elvis the Swan). We enjoyed "Paul" but we didn't find it as funny as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's earlier films. We thought it was a gentle comedy, about right for a Sunday afternoon.
The opening sequence at Comic Con in San Diego was a winner, full of sharp observation. Once it left the Comic Con, "Paul" developed very slowly. My hubby noticed that nobody in the audience laughed during the first twenty minutes.
The special effects were very good: the CGI was impressive. It was easy to believe that Paul was another actor in the scenes. We enjoyed the references to classic sci fi films, like the band in the bar playing the song from the cantina in Star Wars. The reference to "Mac and Me" was especially funny; it's great to see a nod to obscure alien films as well as famous ones.
We loved how "Hot Fuzz" lampooned the "mystery in a small town" plot, and how "Shaun of the Dead" poked fun at the conventions of zombie flicks. The alien of "Paul", like his appearance, really wasn't all that surprising. We've seen slacker aliens who swear and smoke pot before, like Roger in "American Dad". I liked how Paul spent his time on Earth advising the American government and contributing to science fiction films and TV shows. I also liked how Paul challenged the fundamentalist characters' beliefs about the universe. But Paul really didn't do much else that was unpredictable. It would have been much funnier and much more interesting if Paul presented another world view other than American, and other than Sci Fi Nerd.
By the way, I am very tired of aliens landing on Earth speaking English. There was a commerical several years ago that had aliens landing speaking Swiss German. Why not? There have been UFO sightings all over the world: I'm skeptical that the U.S. (and Hollywood) owns aliens.
The opening sequence at Comic Con in San Diego was a winner, full of sharp observation. Once it left the Comic Con, "Paul" developed very slowly. My hubby noticed that nobody in the audience laughed during the first twenty minutes.
The special effects were very good: the CGI was impressive. It was easy to believe that Paul was another actor in the scenes. We enjoyed the references to classic sci fi films, like the band in the bar playing the song from the cantina in Star Wars. The reference to "Mac and Me" was especially funny; it's great to see a nod to obscure alien films as well as famous ones.
We loved how "Hot Fuzz" lampooned the "mystery in a small town" plot, and how "Shaun of the Dead" poked fun at the conventions of zombie flicks. The alien of "Paul", like his appearance, really wasn't all that surprising. We've seen slacker aliens who swear and smoke pot before, like Roger in "American Dad". I liked how Paul spent his time on Earth advising the American government and contributing to science fiction films and TV shows. I also liked how Paul challenged the fundamentalist characters' beliefs about the universe. But Paul really didn't do much else that was unpredictable. It would have been much funnier and much more interesting if Paul presented another world view other than American, and other than Sci Fi Nerd.
By the way, I am very tired of aliens landing on Earth speaking English. There was a commerical several years ago that had aliens landing speaking Swiss German. Why not? There have been UFO sightings all over the world: I'm skeptical that the U.S. (and Hollywood) owns aliens.