PAUL is a movie made for nerdy sci-fi geeks, among which I count myself. Unfortunately, it's also made for fans of raunchy and tasteless humor, among which I do not.
It starts at Comic-con in San Diego, which two British fans, Graham and Clive, are attending as the culmination of a life-long dream. Meet the artists! Buy the comics! Come in costume! Extending the dream, the guys then rent an RV and head for Area 51. I loved these guys. The film makers understand our culture. They are bright, decent, enthusiastic, literate, and clueless.
On the trip, they meet up with the alien who crashed in Area 51 in 1947. He has escaped the government, calls himself Paul, and needs a ride to a location he won't reveal. Of course, the feds are chasing him. The movie is a spoof of ET, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, and MEN IN BLACK, itself already a spoof. It has delicious bits such as the scene in which Graham asks Paul what he's been doing all these years. "Well, a bit of consulting, for one thing," he says, and we get a drop-in of Paul sitting across the desk from a shadowy figure and saying, "You could do it this way, Mr. Spielberg..."
I saw the movie with a teenage friend who missed a lot of the SF references which I thought hilarious. On the other hand, she didn't mind the stupid raunch -- bathroom jokes, homophobic digs, fart humor, etc. that for me marred an otherwise enjoyable romp.
3 comments:
It bugged you so much you reviewed it twice!
Sorry. Have to get better at computers.
Heh, great review. This movie looked really dumb to me, but after reading your review, I'm kinda tempted by it.
I love your "Cranky [etc.] at the Movies" posts; you should have a syndicated column!
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