Paul or How I knew that in some way I loved Simon Pegg

Paul

Paul is a simple movie. There is not a lot to it but when looking at the action in other movies starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, that cannot be surprising. I mean that in a good way. What was Shaun of The Dead but a romantic comedy taking place in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. What was Hot Fuzz but an action buddy movie placed in a boring suburb. There are, of course, layers to these movies and an underlying love of the genres they take on. Add Seth Rogen to the mix and it makes the movie hard to be anything but a hit. How then is this movie missing with audiences?
It begins with a trip to San Diego and Comic-Con with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as lovable nerds, going through the exhibits trying to meet their idols. Yet all this is just to set the nerd base. Make sure that before they even unlock their RV for a trip to UFO hot spots across our great country, they have already shown to us their love and desire to be a part of a science fiction story. To add a layer to the characters, I don’t think it is too hard to see that these two men share a love of each other that is very hard to see between two heterosexual men.
As they pass through the desert somewhere near Area 51 they witness a car crashing and find the only stoner alien in the history of cinema, Paul. Seth Rogen, for his part, seems to play a version of himself except with his deep stoner laugh rumbling through a chest the size of a preteen boy. Paul is not a complex character but he is in need of a ride to the place where he has phoned home for his alien pals to pick him up. Along the way they are doggedly pursued by a secret government agent played by Jason Bateman and two lesser agents played to subordinate perfection by Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio.
I could break down the movie for you and ruin the surprises  for you but I want you to see this movie. It has a charm and fun willingness to throw in little bits of alien movie trivia for the fans of the genre.  I won’t ruin them for you but pay attention to the music in a bar/cafe they enter and to the mysterious power behind Jason Bateman’s Agent Zoil. There are many reasons to like this movie. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are brilliant at creating a good story from a bare bones idea. They keep the movie going and don’t allow it to be bogged down by constant cameos. The cameos are in there but the story supports the characters. They sneak in little pointed asides to the lack of originality in Hollywood and the inability to convince a Christian of anything they truly don’t want to believe.
The cast brings the movie to a different level. Would the movie be effective without them? Who knows? We have Hader and Rogen. We Have Pegg and Frost. Bateman and Wiig. That ugly Matt Damon guy from Friday Night Lights and Jane Lynch from Glee. They all bring a kind of cohesion to the movie and make the moviegoer enjoy their experience and want to stick around to see what happens next. “Paul” is the name of the alien but the movie itself is a collection of talent having fun and not being smug about it. I speak to you Clooney and the Fake Rat Pack. It can be done.
What makes me a fan of Simon Pegg is his ability to be a superstar and still relate to the people he is making movies for. In other movies, the characters of Graham and Clive would be looked down on for their nerdiness. Here they are not looked down on or looked up to. They are simply people who love science fiction and want to see it for themselves. It is hard to find a movie where the two main characters are nerds and not have endless jokes at their inability to get laid or the ability of nerds to fit into trash receptacles with only minimal assistance. Is Paul a great movie? No, not really, but it is worthy of your $10.25 (or whatever your movie ticket price is.)

The Always Honored and Amazingly Prestigious Golden Unhappy Awards 

Kristen Wiig - The “They’re all gonna laugh at you” Religious Nut Award

         The Rootin Tootin F@#%ing Awesome Attempt at Swearing Award

Simon Pegg - The “Hugh Grant” Award for Squirrelly Britishness Award

Jason Bateman - The Straight Man’s Straight Man Award

Jesse Plemmons (Ugly Matt Damon) - The a Little Less Ugly and a Little More Damon Award

Quotes 

Paul: *Why* does everyone always assume that? What am I doing? Am I harvesting farts? How much can I learn from an ass?
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Ruth Buggs: You bet your hairy love-eggs!
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Paul: [Lighting a joint and takes a hit] Do you guys partake?
Graeme Willy: No. Thank you.
Ruth Buggs: I'll partake.
Paul: Are you sure? It's pretty strong sh*t. I get it from the military. I think this is the stuff that killed Dylan.
Graeme Willy: Bob Dylan's not dead.
Paul: [smiles] Isn't he?
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Adam Shadowchild: [Upon seeing the cover of Clive Gollings' book, which shows an alien woman with 3 breasts] Three t*ts? Awesome.



Mr. Unhappy Sez: Like a pig says when you feed it a good batch of bacon ”I don’t know what this is but I like it.” 
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erm admission...

Aliens

       This is the sequel to the hit movie Alien. What's not to love about this series? I don't know but unlike Paul, the aliens are a bit less huggable and a little more deadly. This movie also shows the promise of James Cameron before he made Terminator 2 and none of the smugness of Post Titanic James Cameron. There is a difference and the difference is quality. What makes Aliens great is the humor and wit that exists in it. Sigourney Weaver stars as the heroine Ripley and believe it or not (pardon or don't pardon that pun) she is back on a ship and back finding another Alien or Aliens. One would think that after the first experience she may have had enough of them. Somehow Paul Reiser gets her back on the horse and she is out on an Alien infested world to fight the baddies as only she can. The great Bill Paxton steals the show as a military man with the courage of a guppy. To see a grown man completely lose his mind, bladder and ego, Paxton voices the concerns of the audience. Also to see Ripley, a woman, take the reins of leadership from the frightened male turns what had been conventional movie theater plot is great. By the time Ripley faces the Mother Alien in her battle armor or is it a walking forklift and cry "Get away from her, you bitch!" we as the audience are ready to cry out with Ripley but the lot of us would probably join Bill Paxton on the floor yelling "Game over man, game over!"

The Fifth Element

        I remember when this movie came out I was against seeing it on the general principle that I didn't want to like it. I just didn't want to believe that it would be anything more than a T&A show of Milla Jovovich (which it is in a way) but I couldn't see the story being engaging or even interesting. Flash forward 10 years and my roommate becomes apoplectic when I tell him that I didn't see it and he makes me sit down and watch the movie with him (the same went for Evil Dead 2 I am ashamed to say). Bruce Willis stars as Korben Dallas, a retired soldier driving a cab when the mysterious LeeLoo falls through the roof of his cab. This begins his journey to save the universe from absolute evil. Sounds far fetched and yet when watching the movie you roll with it, which is a sign of a great movie. Bruce Willis creates a character in the vain of John McClane (isn't it always something like McClane) and is of course able to save the world but it may be the one time when knowing that doesn't ruin the movie. A young Chris Tucker rolls through as Ruby Rhod, who broadcasts his popular radio show as the world is saved (best show ever indeed) and Luke Perry attempts to shed his Dylan McKay image (and never really does) as a young archaeologist's assistant. You have to love it, it is not really even an option to hate it.  And if you don't then my name isn't LeeLoo Dallas multi pass.

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