Paul! Paul! Paul! Paul! Paul!

I, a ‘pretentious’ ‘film blogger,’ howling my way through the second half of a decent comedy, only trying not shitting on it later.

ph. Universal

Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) go on a road trip starting from the San Diego Comic-Con and slices through UFO sites within America. This is the reverse Y Tu Mama Tambien, where meeting people along the way mitigates the two’s homosexual bond. Let’s talk about the fourth addition to Graeme and Clive’s RV, Ruth Braggs (Kristen Wiig), Graeme’s eventual love interest, making Clive jealous. Unlike their roles in Shaun of the Dead, Graeme’s goofy and Clive is sane, gay but never says it. I have yet to decide what I think of this non-revelation. Then we move to the RV’s third wheel. Paul (Seth Rogen). An alien. The first half of the film is getting through how hard it is to watch a movie with a CGI alien in it.

As Graeme and Ruth’s weirdo romance grows, Clive and Paul have a passive aggressive relationship. When they first meet, Graeme faints and pees his pants, the latter incident reaping expected comic rewards. The movie’s also about making effective winks and nudges to alien pop culture, or mostly said winks and nudges to Steven Spielberg’s career.

Part of the fun in this road trip is also a chase. Watching Clive and Graeme’s RV cut through the highway seems like an American pastoral, compared to how the FBI goons (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader) are depicted in menacing black suits and more menacing black cars. It’s funny watching them try to be indifferent to the alien subculture while trying to catch an alien. Tailing both the RV and the FBI is Ruth’s crazy father (John Carroll Lynch), stereotypically Christian and all. But wait for a James Cameron reference that true geeks will be gratified with. 3.5/5