Now playing: Paul
British funnymen Simon Pegg and Nick Frost left their mark on zombie movies with Shaun of the Dead (hysterical) and buddy cop movies with Hot Fuzz (really funny), but they don’t do the same for aliens with their newest, Paul. Geeks Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) meet alien Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) while on a road trip to the top alien hotspots in the U.S. One hopes things would blast off when Paul lands in their RV, but it’s not until Ruth (Kristen Wiig) joins them that the film shows real signs of intelligent life. Wiig steals many of the scenes, brilliantly playing a young woman who swears with more enthusiasm than skill. As Men in Black in hot pursuit, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Joe Lo Truglio do their best, but they elicit an awkward feeling — kind of like when you’re watching Hader and Wiig on SNL and the material isn’t funny. Director Greg Mottola (Superbad) ensures that Paul is a realistic character in the film, but it’s so undeniably Rogen’s voice that it’s hard not to picture his newly skinny body and big head in Paul’s place. Rated PG-13. Area theaters. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS. Reviewed by Tim Plant.
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