MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Paul Rated R

Photo © 2011 Universal Pictures
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

I am a big fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, two comedies starring the British team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.  Those films were co-written and directed by Edgar Wright; his presence is sorely missed here. 

Paul’s modest plot involves Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost), second-tier fantasy writers who make the trip to California to attend Comic-con and then embark on a road trip to visit Area 51 and other famous places where UFOs have been sighted. 

For no apparent reason whatsoever they stumble on an actual alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogan) who is on the run from federal agents (remember Men in Black?).  Paul looks exactly like the alien you’d imagine, big eyes and bulbous head, although now sporting shorts and a backpack. Not only is his resemblance to the extraterrestrial visitor from Close Encounters of the Third Kind intentional, but he also has a fondness for Reese’s Pieces (E.T.). 

They manage to get some rednecks mad at them following a stop at a local watering hole (The Blues Brothers) and then meet Ruth (Kristen Wiig), a fundamentalist Christian woman under the thumb of her gun-toting daddy, who decides to join their party. 

Paul is pretty much just a by-the-numbers shout out to movie geeks who can spot all of the references and plot points from other films; even its conclusion is just a mash-up from two Spielberg films.

The main reason that Christians should be concerned about Paul is that it spends a great deal of time making fun of Christians (and, if you pick the right ones, we give filmmakers a lot to work with).  This becomes such a major conceit of the movie, it then goes on to announce its dismissal of God and religious faith altogether. 

I saw this gambit a few years ago in Ricky Gervais’ 2009 film The Invention of Lying, and it wasn’t funny then, either.  If there’s anything less funny than fanatical Christians, it has to be fanatical atheists.  Taking down people of any faith is a tricky business, apt to become mean-spirited (as Paul becomes, once it adds this task to its agenda). 

I have never seen the advancements of science as a threat to my theology and find no reason for either Christians or atheists to draw a line in the sand.  Hopefully, we’ll evolve away from this. (Just kidding, folks!)

One final note must be made about the movie’s non-stop potty mouth.  I kept checking the end credits to make sure that Pegg and Frost wrote the screenplay, because it sounded more like 12 year old boys talking to one another on the playground. Never has so much profanity had less profundity and more non-necessity than in Paul.

Pitchfork/Halo Ratings:
One halo
This juvenile, foul-mouthed space spoof does have its share of funny moments.

Four pitchforks
For constant swearing, alcohol and drug use, and its cheeky dismissal of God..

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