“Paul”:The Potty-mouthed ET

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead”) team up again in “Paul” as a couple of Brit comic book creators on a dream trip to the Mecca of UFO adoration, the annual Comic-Con convention, followed by a fish out of water RV road trip to the American Southwest, a hot bed of UFO lore. The comedy gels with the arrival of Paul, voiced by Seth Rogen, and Ruth Buggs, a Creationist Christian with one good eye, brilliantly played by SNL’s Kristen Wiig. Ruth runs an RV trailer park, and is eventually caught up in the pursuit of Paul by a mysterious government agent, played by the always reliable Jason Bateman, Lorenzo Zoil ( just one of a million referential movie moments in the film), who’s aided by to hopeless local lawmen Haggard( SNL’s funny Bill Hader), and O’Reilly (Joe Lo Truglio). The Spielberg “Close Encounter-ET” canon is given a thorough comedic workout here, and that includes a cameo by Spielberg himself. One has the feeling that this funny movie could have been funnier but, nonetheless, it’s worth a visit to the big screen. Be advised, “Paul” is not shy about earning it’s R Rating.

My GPA: 3.2