If you’ve seen the trailer for Paul, you’ve probably wondered why it isn’t funny. The movie is directed by Superbad‘s Greg Mottola, it stars and was written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and it appears to be some kind of Shaun of the Dead–meets-E.T. sci-fi comedy, which sounds promising. Further, the cast includes every single funny person in Hollywood today: Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig. With all that talent, how did they manage to make an unfunny trailer? Does a trailer editor somewhere need to get fired? But no, the answer is both simple and unfortunate: This movie is profoundly unfunny.
Pegg and Frost play two nerdy British friends who, after visiting San Diego Comic-Con for the first time, take a road trip in a Winnebago to visit famous UFO-related sites of the Southwest. They come across Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen, doing his best Seth Rogen impersonation), an alien with a gruff voice who is often rude, even though he has a heart of gold beating somewhere beneath that diminutive alien exterior. He teaches his adopted humans to loosen up and enjoy life. Yes, just like ALF. They basically remade ALF into a road trip comedy with more swears and the occasional genital joke.
Not that that’s necessarily a bad idea, but there’s not one original joke or, hell, even one original concept in this entire movie. The only glimmers of salvation come in spite of all the mediocrity: Bateman brings a casual sense of menace to his federal agent, and Wiig finds the sweet, likable reality in a character who is no more than a doltish Christian stereotype. Tired references to Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T. (the alien likes Reese’s Pieces! Get it?) get trotted out at the appropriate points, in the hopes that sci-fi nerds will show up to “get” the “joke,” but they shouldn’t take the geek-bait: Paul is a lazy wank of a movie that exploits nerd culture and gives nothing back in return. 
I completely disagree. Paul is a hysterical movie made more phenomenal by the cast. It’s a fun and exciting movie – and smart.
Everybody does their part to pull together this funny little story and there are myriad nods (some subtle, some completely not) to the geeks like me who see it.
Don’t listen to this guy.
It’s got Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I’m gonna see whether you like it or not. So there.
That’s fine, sanguisuga @2, but I want you to come back here and admit how much it sucked once you do see it. Or we can fight! That would be fine, too. But, really, it sucks. Don’t listen to Studio PR Flack @1.
The driver of the car looks like one of the Greys.
@1 – Wow, that’s not even trying to hide the fact that you’re employed by the studio to promote the film
Mr.Constant save your opinion for someone who cares. Just review the fucking movie you narcissistic CUNT!
Some movies are meant for such a niche audience, that I feel the shouldn’t even be reviewed. As a geek and a fanboy, I loved it, but I wouldn’t suggest it to normies.
@Paul Constant – I did some editing of your last sentence for you:
Paul (Constant) is a lazy wank of a movie that exploits nerd culture and gives nothing back in return.
Now it makes sense, and helpfully describes your writing contributions.
I made my two guy friends go to the movies with me the other night, and they had no idea what we were even going to watch, evidently they had not seen the trailer for some movie called PAUL. And they were very pleasantly surprised, aka convulsing in laughter (they might have been loaded). For what it is… it was entertaining. Come on, was Superbad really that GENIUS?? It’s all about expectations people. I’m a not totally normal 20 year old girl, but i’m not a nerd… and loved it.