The Dukes See a Movie: Paul

It was hard trying to decide what to say about this movie so I will just say it was exactly what I expected. Now I should probably say what I mean by that. I was very excited to see this movie for three main reasons.

1. It is a story about nerds. Being a nerd I always look forward to seeing a movie about my kind. I feel an instant connection to the characters and it makes me want to do something nerdy myself. (Here are a few examples: bust out my red Magic the Gathering deck and do battle in some dimly lit game shop, dress up as an Uruk-hai and go to Hobbit town and yell "Find the Halfling!", or just be me since that is nerdy enough.)
2. The cast. I heart me some Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. I cannot think of a single show either has been in that I haven't liked. Especially when they are in a movie together like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. (These are two of my favorite movies ever.) The cast also includes Seth Rogen and Jason Bateman. When I read through the cast I may or may not have squealed like a girl and fainted. Don't judge me.
3. The name. Paul is such a sexy and wonderful name. For those of you that don't know we have a friend named Paul and if I had left him out of this review he would have been a sad, sexy man.

The movie starts with best friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost having themselves the ultimate nerd-cation. They first stop off at Comicon and geek out over a myriad of things including authors, swords and lady nerds. After Comicon they head on a road trip to visit the most famous paranormal sites in the US. While driving from one of these sites they witness a car crash. They stop to help and investigate and while searching the wreckage they meet Paul the alien.

After a brief freak-out period that involved fainting and pant-peeing they are told that Paul needs their help to make it home. Simon agrees (Nick is passed out at this point) and they hit the road together. It doesn't take long for them to realize that they are being pursued by three agents. Two are bumbling rookies and one (Jason Bateman) is pretty dang hardcore.

While running they happen to pick up another person. She is the cyclops daughter of rv park owner and is incredibly religious, the crazy bible thumping version of religious. You can bet she isn't too keen on having her world crushed by an alien but that is what ends up happening when he heals her eye and gives her his knowledge through a mind meld.

There are many close shaves and a lot of laughs as the attempt to reach the meeting point. Once they get there you meet the director of the project that Paul had escaped. Sigourney Weaver. I hate her so much. It is a rage that wells from deep in my soul. If I met her in person I would probably get over my distaste of hitting women and just go to town on her face.

Here are two pictures of the same person.

This hatred is leading me to give away part of the movie.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Sigourney Weaver gets crushed by a spaceship! This moment sealed the deal on my enjoyment of the movie.

In the end I really enjoyed this movie. It was a lighthearted romp that made me laugh and didn't make me think very much. If you have a few hours of time and no aversion to foul language you should see this movie.

Rating: 4 stars