By Robert Scucci
| Published
Craving some Steven Spielberg magic but with an R-rated edge? If so, Paul, a raunchy love letter to all of your favorite sci-fi adventure classics, may be all you need to feel satisfied. A standard road trip comedy written by none other than Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Paul takes you on a wild journey across the Southwestern United States as our heroes transport an extraterrestrial being to his mothership while on the run from the federal agents trying to capture him.
Playing out like an extended chase sequence, Paul is paced with a sense of urgency, but not so much urgency that you can’t enjoy its over-the-top sense of humor and many, many references to the iconic sci-fi properties that we all grew up watching.
Searching For The Mothership
Before meeting Paul (Seth Rogen) for the first time, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) are enjoying their first trip to the United States, where they attend the San Diego Comic-Con before embarking on a road trip across the Southwest to visit all of the alleged UFO sites they’ve only read about up until this point in their lives.
Graeme and Clive, who both are happy enough to take quick photos and nerd out over the various landmarks they visit along the way, suddenly get their world rocked when they run into Paul, who wrecked his car while trying to pass their RV in the middle of the night.
Though Graeme agrees to let Paul hitch a ride, Clive, who immediately pees his pants and passes out upon seeing the alien, isn’t so sure that’s a great idea. Stopping at an RV park to regroup and figure out their next moves, the trio meets Ruth (Kristen Wiig), a hardcore one-eyed, bible-thumping woman who runs the park with her father, Moses (John Carroll Lynch). Matters get complicated when Graeme and Clive inadvertently kidnap Ruth after getting in a scuffle with her Moses when Paul’s presence becomes known.
Meanwhile, Special Agent Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman), along with his two clueless and inexperienced but hardworking subordinates, Agents Haggard (Bill Hader) and O’Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio), aim to capture Paul under the need-to-know instructions from “the Big Guy,” the woman in charge of the whole operation.
Jam-Packed With Sci-Fi References
Never afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve, Paul’s references to beloved sci-fi properties like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Hey! Reese’s Pieces! Thank You!), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek, Aliens, and even Mac and Me, among many others, never feel forced because we’re following two geeks of the highest order who of course would relate their current situation to the intellectual properties that inspired their road trip in the first place. And when Paul reveals that he’s had Steven Spielberg on speed dial for decades because he’s actually the creative force behind some of the most iconic sci-fi titles we’ve all enjoyed doesn’t seem like a copout because it only makes sense that an actual alien would be used by the entertainment industry to move units.
Losing points for Paul, however, is the titular alien himself, who can’t help but shoehorn his usual brand of Seth Rogen stoner shtick into the premise. While the banter between alien and human is always engaging in Paul, Rogen’s need to let everybody know that he likes marijuana gets old fast, and doesn’t really add any depth to the film because it’s old hat at this point.
Extending an olive branch, my favorite scene in Paul is when Ruth, a Christian fundamentalist who decides that aliens are real and the world’s more complex than the Bible lets on, decides she wants to start swearing, only to be coached by the alien because she hasn’t yet figured out the best way to belt out profanities without sounding like a second grader who learned their first naughty word and wants to use it constantly, no matter the context.
A Trip Worth Taking
Despite some of Paul’s tonal inconsistencies, it’s still a solid sci-fi adventure flick that caters to a very specific niche audience. With rapid-fire references to and jabs at geek culture, you could easily compare Paul’s delivery to The Big Bang Theory in the sense that our heroes need to lean into their sci-fi fandom in order to interpret the world around them because it’s the only thing they truly care about.
Paul isn’t a groundbreaking sci-fi film, but it’s absolutely coming from a sincere place that pokes fun at various fandoms without ever coming across as mean-spirited. For that reason alone, you should stream Paul on Tubi as soon as you get the chance, because unlike Paul in his invisibility cloak, you’ll definitely feel seen.