Is genre-spoofing from the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost comedy dream team wearing thin? Not just yet, but if it was a cardigan – and let’s face it, this is cosy comedy – the elbows would be going. The pair follow up the smash send-ups Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz with an affectionate ribbing of sci-fi and get-the-alien-to-the-mothership movies. There are plenty of gags but also a hint of diminishing returns.
This is a US-UK comedy alliance, with Seth Rogen as the voice of Paul, a CGI alien on the run who comes across like a Pixar character who smokes weed and tells jokes about genitals. Pegg and Frost act out their usual dynamic as nerds who get more than they bargain for when they run into Paul on a tour of UFO hotspots.
The whole thing barrels along, rolling in chase-movie pastiches: by the end the trio has a Bible thumper, two rednecks and the FBI on their tail. A couple of gags are weak – always mistaken for a gay couple, snore – but there is enough sly humour and cracking one-liners (yes, some about anal probes) to make Paul a passable alt-date movie. Cath Clarke
Length: 104 minutes
Country of origin: UK | USA | France
Year of production: 2011
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