Paul

Director: Greg Mottola

In their previous feature film outings together Nick Frost and Simon Pegg have saved England from a plague of zombies with a cricket bat and knocked over a town of murderous citizens as members of the local constabulary. So it should be of a little surprise that on their latest encounter they go on a road trip across the United States with a foul mouthed, smoking-addicted alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen).

Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost) are best friends who are finally venturing on a long awaited trip to the United States to attend the ultimate geek festival - the Comic-con convention. Following the convention they rent an RV and travel across the United States to visit the famous sights alleged to have been frequented by aliens. It is while on this adventure they come across the rather unique victim of a car accident, Paul. What follows is a heavily referenced sci-fi journey as they attempt to help Paul go “home,” during which they also manage to pick up a creationist Christian in Ruth (Kirsten Wiig) and a marijuana smoking grandmother, Tara (Blythe Danner).

I am far from being a fan of sci-fi, but I have been impressed by all three of Pegg’s and Frost’s films and their use of the medium of comedy to make the sci-fi genre entertaining for those not obsessed with extra terrestrial life. While Paul is perhaps not their best work, their British take on US culture and the obsessive behavior of socially conservative Christians provides enough laughs to make it entertaining. The heavy references to other films in the genre from the past also make it a worthy tribute to those who are already fans of sci-fi.

Now showing in Latvia; Opens in Estonia on April 22.