Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been riding a crest of a wave ever since their Spaced days. First there was Shaun of the Dead and then Hot Fuzz and now the difficult third album, Paul. I can announce that it wasn't such a difficult third album but it's a bundle of fun.
Graham and Clive are best friends and workmates who go to the world famous Comic Con before heading off on a road trip across America in a RV which checking out the important places where UFOs and alien sightings have occurred. While driving one night, a car overtakes them and then crashes. On investigation, they discover a little green alien called Paul. Reluctantly they decide to help him get to a destination he needs to be at. On the way they kidnap Ruth, a religious nut who hasn't really understood the outside world, while being pursued by Ruth's bible-wielding father, a secret agent and to inept secret service officers. Will the gang get to where Paul needs to go?
Pegg and Frost's on-screen chemistry is almost perfect. The best friends off-screen, they seem so at ease with each other that you feel you could easily be their mates too. What is so nice about this pair is that even though they get top billing, as co-writers, they could have given all the decent lines to themselves and used the American cast as nothing more than extras. This doesn't happen at all. In fact the best liens are left for both Paul and Ruth.
The brilliant Kristen Wiig gets to really shine here as Ruth, starting out as a woman who is against the theory of evolution and ending up with the worst potty mouth around. She sparkles throughout and is hilarious, especially with some choice throw-away lines.
Seth Rogen is a perfect choice for the voice of Paul, making him a laid-back, weedy smoking wise old owl who knows a few choice words himself. With Jason Bateman as the mysterious secret agent assigned to track them down, he too gets some deadpan moments that will have you giggling.
And you will giggle. Director Greg Mottola (he of Superbad fame) doesn't overcomplicate things with flashy visuals but allows the script to do the work and while it never reaches the heights of Shaun or Hot Fuzz, this is a more accessible film with enough sci-fi in-jokes to keep the geeks happy, allowing plenty of low-grade toilet humour and foul language to keep everyone else amused.
You might not find yourself in hysterics but you will leave the cinema more than satisfied that you have had a great time, hoping that the masterful double act of Pegg and Frost will be back soon with something else for us to enjoy.
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