Seth Rogen’s career has been packed with laugh-filled gems he’s both starred in and co-written, earning their place among some of the best comedy films ever. Classics like “Superbad,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and “Pineapple Express” will continue to be revisited as some of the finest side-splitters in recent years. He doesn’t show any signs of stopping, either, thanks to his critically acclaimed show, “The Studio,” as well as his funny series about just friends, “Platonic.” One film that doesn’t get anywhere near enough attention, though, is a movie he didn’t even appear in. Well, physically, at least. Instead, his mastery of foul-mouthed dialogue and signature chuckle shared the screen with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in “Paul,” a film about alien invasions and comic conventions.
Directed by Greg Mottola in 2011, “Paul” follows Pegg and Frost as two best pals on a road trip to the San Diego Comic-Con, hoping to fulfill their comic book needs. Unfortunately, their trip hits a bump when they cross paths with a real-life alien named Paul (Rogan), who is on the run from the government. So begins a mission between these two best buds from Britain and a pot-smoking extraterrestrial who wants to get off our rock. It’s a task that becomes all the more difficult when Special Agent Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman of “Arrested Development” and “Black Rabbit” fame) is hot on their tail, taking orders from “The Big Guy,” played by none other than sci-fi legend Sigourney Weaver, known for exterminating aliens.
Paul is a must-watch for sci-fi fans who want to get some laughs
The nods to the genre don’t stop with Weaver, either. Just as Frost and Pegg’s breakout zom-com movie, “Shaun of the Dead,” was a love letter to the undead genre, “Paul” pays its respects to science fiction at every opportunity. Pivotal bits of popular culture like “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” get comedic homages as well as regular references to “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” including Paul having a brief chat with the movie’s director, Steven Spielberg. For some reason, though, in all of the big-screen collaborations involving Pegg and Frost, “Paul” was a film that didn’t quite stick and should’ve.
Earning over $97 million against a production budget of $40 million (via BoxOfficeMojo), “Paul” was a success and received a fair bit of praise from critics upon release. In the end, Seth Rogen as a space man wasn’t quite enough to have as much longevity as the likes of Pegg and Frost’s other joint efforts. Be that as it may, it doesn’t mean the sci-fi laugh-fest isn’t worth some attention and should absolutely get some repeat viewings, if only to see Sigourney Weaver get shown the door in one of the funniest deaths ever. Some aliens are scary, but one that laughs like Seth Rogen is certainly worth your time.
