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When it comes aliens, like Fox Mulder we want to believe, but like Dana Scully we also want facts. The UFO is back in the spotlight with the issue being investigated by Congress. Looking to the movies for answers we have extraterrestrials, visitors, Grays, little green men, intergalactic travelers, Predators, Vogons, Blobs, Martians and all the other beings who have used Earth as a truck stop in the universe. They are here for a variety of reasons, to attack, dominate, teach, steal, help us save ourselves and just for their own curiosity. Or like Paul, they were lost or crashed on our planet. And how they interact with humans tends to be mostly on the humans they are interacting with, a reactionary relationship. And there are always misunderstandings and government involvement fucking things up.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star as two best friends Graeme and Clive taking a road trip of a lifetime in a rented RV. They are visiting all of America’s alien hotspot tourist destinations when they encounter an actual little green man with big eyes and a large round head named Paul. Who is obviously one of us Wonkers because he doesn’t wear pants. He wears cargo shorts, which are not pants in my opinion. Other signs that Paul could be a Wonker include sarcasm, a childish sense of humor and the ability to piss off secretive government entities. You know who you are.
With winks to other classic sci-fi films, like the obvious E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Pegg and Frost managed to convince Steven Spielberg to make a great cameo.
Said Pegg,
“We told him all about Paul whilst we were filming. We mentioned the idea that in the mythology of our movie, Paul had been an advisor to him whilst he was making E.T. He loved the idea and jokingly suggested a cameo. Nick and I immediately hashed out the scene and held him to it. Being the gentleman that he is, he made good on his suggestion.”
Another nod to cinematic outer space is the addition of Sigourney Weaver to the cast, who portrayed two very different characters battling aliens in other movies. As Ripley in the Alien film series and as Gwen DiMarco in Galaxy Quest. She still plays a badass but there is more emphasis on the bad in her role as The Big Guy in Paul
Pegg and Frost are the writers of Paul, getting the idea for the script during a break in filming Shaun Of The Dead. They had drawn the main character in an FBI t-shirt, giving the world the middle finger. They had included the caption, “In the U.S., everybody is an alien.” Which is similar to the world of the Men In Black movies, where there are all kinds of extraterrestrial beings hiding as humans on Earth. Except generally they are portrayed as humans that are seen as different, weird or not belonging. I think I just described myself and the way many others feel about themselves, so that holds true, we are all aliens.
The cinematic world provides many ideas about these space travelers, helping us to perceive what we hold in our heads as our vision of them. Usually the more intelligent beings that arrive on the 3rd rock from the Sun are here to help Earthlings learn a lesson. Some are here to help us save ourselves as in The Day The Earth Stood Still. When other worlds have decided that our home planet is too screwed up to be allowed to exist they send us a last chance in the form of Klaatu and his protector Gort.
I wonder if Klaatu, the alien messenger from The Day The Earth Stood Still, could convince world leaders today that the Earth needs to save itself. We could use an expression like “Klaatu barada nikto!” to shut down a force determined to destroy us. Wonder what the words orange and dictator translate into from Klaatu’s language.
Organized religion might have some problems with interplanetary travelers dropping by and telling us to get our shit together. Maybe this is why the thought of alien visitors seems to get under the skin of some religious folks. They address this in the movie with Kristen Wiig’s character Ruth, she is confused about the existence of a being not of this earth, it clashes with what religion has taught her. Jesus could have been an intergalactic visitor, just saying, if you can believe any of the other incredible things said about him you might as well believe that imagining.
Paul stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch. Directed by Greg Mottola.
To make requests, see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.
Available for $3.79 on Prime and Google Play. $3.99 on YouTube, Vudu and Apple TV.
Nuke the popcorn and enjoy!
Tonight’s cartoon is Electric Earthquake (1942) with the alien Superman rescuing Lois Lane from a scientist’s underwater lair and stopping earthquakes caused by electric shocks. By Fleischer Studios. I really enjoy the art of this one.
