The British duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost teamed up with Seth Rogen for this sci-fi comedy blending "ET" with "Shawn of the Dead." While certainly having its funny moments, "Paul" was merely an average comedy with little taking it to the next level. Still, if you're looking for something to entertain you for a while it just might be worth it.
The movie starts with Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost) visiting America to see Comic-con and promote their graphic novel with a tri-breasted woman on the front. They follow up the convention by fulfilling one of their biggest dreams: touring the nation's most notorious alien conspiracy zones.
After leaving Area 51, they witness a car wreck and decide to take a look, only to find an alien nearby. This alien, Paul (Rogen), proves to be hilarious and some much needed comic relief to the two's trip. Paul enrolls Graeme and Clive to help him get home and run away from the authorities that want to kidnap Paul.
The trio's antics lead them to a trailer park where they meet Christian creationist enthusiast Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig). After she discovers Paul's existence (by intelligent design according to her), Graeme and Clive decide it would be best to kidnap her from her overly protective father. This adds another car to the long line of those chasing the alien and geeks.
Meanwhile, two average cops who are always left in the dark and a bit reminiscent of "The Other Guys" get called up to help with the case and provide the funniest antics in the entire movie. Played by Bill Hader (of "Saturday Night Live" fame) and Joe Lo Truglio (the guy from "Superbad" that hits Jonah Hill with his car), the two cops did all they could to save the film.
Overall, "Paul" was a fairly predictable movie with a proven lineup of funny people to entertain those not expecting too much. Not horrible by any means, "Paul" was moderately funny but certainly not the next "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle," but it could have been a lot worse.