Paul

The good news with Paul is that British actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) have re-teamed for a movie. The bad news? It’s directed by Greg Mottola, the dude responsible for Superbad, which means there’s an emphasis on gay jokes and other types of gags aimed at 15-year-old boys. Here we have Pegg and Frost playing themselves (a couple of Brit nerds), using a San Diego sci-fi convention as a launching pad for a U.S. road trip. Their agenda is to visit the hotspots of UFO lore in their Winnebago rental. But on a desolate stretch of New Mexico highway, they end up taking on board the E.T. title character (voice of Seth Rogan). Paul is no Shaun of the Dead. It hews closer to the Judd “Knocked Up” Apatow stoner sensibility. The script (written by Pegg and Frost) is amusing and clever, but rarely LOL funny. It’s missing something. Maybe it’s a lack of subtext, or maybe it’s that the numerous pop-culture references are content with just being references—rarely subverting them. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated R