Director: Greg Mottola
(Note: I saw Paul several weeks ago, but decided to wait until the film came out to review it.)
I am almost always turned off by ads for comedy films, which invariably choose the most pandering and lowbrow jokes to put out front. I've been scared away from more than a few recent comedies, only to have to discover that they're actually good. However, seeing a film before one sees the advertisements is an intriguing peek into the inner workings of the movie industry juggernaut. Not only are the jokes not ruined for me, but I get to guess, which jokes will ultimately end up being ruined by trailers and television ads?
There's not too many ruined here, but one of the better gags of the film is destroyed. If you watch television at all, you've seen Paul the alien bringing a bird back to life only to eat it while it's still alive. This is a great gag - I recall cringing at the scene and hoping internally 'please be a joke here, please be a joke here', and then, boom. It's a well-executed gag whose surprise is now gone.
Oh yes - the film. Well, Paul was okay. It has a ton of Comedy Ringers™ - the actors who typically populate the periphery of a Hollywood comedy. Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman, and David Koechner all appear. The writing is good, but not great. There's some jokes that are re-used too often. The main characters are likable. There's a better film somewhere inside this one, but unfortunately this appears to be a rather big-budget movie, so it will be trapped forever. Still, it's worth seeing - on DVD.
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