3 stars***

An excellent inspiration; Paul is an unusual switch on the customary stories of people meeting aliens and making friends. This alien smokes, uses bad language and still manages to deliver a full character that leaves ET behind.

So what’s it all about?

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite for the comedy adventure Paul as two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. When he discovers he’s been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town-a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship.

After Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, you always expect so much from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (currently standing high as comic brilliance) that when ‘Paul’ falls a little short of those, you feel the movie should have been funnier. The Brits have moved from very English films to mixing it with Hollywood to come up with actors and a style that suits both sides of the Atlantic; probably the financial rewards will be much higher than before.

The jokes are very much made for an America audience, but will be appreciated by the UK audience, but with less out loud laughing.

The screenplay writers (Pegg and Frost) have shown perfectly how to adjust an English based idea and give it the Hollywood package treatment, to ensure that neither audience is excluded. Bringing in Sigourney Weaver to be the bad guy is a touch of casting genius. The story is carefully crafted to use conflict between the various characters to move the story along. Each character is delivered with enough time to make them stand out sufficiently from each other; a tough treat well rewarded.

There’s never a dull moment and you sit wondering what the alien will say next. That’s the sign of an excellent screenplay.

Many have been big hits, like The American Pie movies, the Road Trip genre, Meet Dave, Chuck and Larry and anything involving a teenager trying to lose their virginity, especially when friends are offering to help.

One sad fact comes before each of these types of movie; you know that all the best jokes were contained in the two minute trailer you just saw.

We need to define ‘what is comedy?’ Bend It Like Beckham was a great movie, but it was hardly a comedy, yet that became it’s genre. It was a wonderful screenplay with quality acting but it didn’t have you holding your stomach in place. Love Actually had a high number of quality chortle factors. Bill Nighy’s comedic timing was perfect throughout.

Shaun Of The Dead and Hott Fuzz have shown us a different type of joke recently. We laugh at the characters, not at the jokes. It’s what they do that is funny, not what they say, especially as they don’t intend to be amusing.

A young lady told me that she couldn’t wait to go and see the recent ‘Shopaholic’ film. Having seen the trailer I’d rather watch paint dry, so we must all accept that not everything appeals to everyone and one person’s amusement is another person’s cough. That’s why we talk about marketing and genre. That’s why movies are made to fit age ranges, sometime gender and often different types of humor. Some films are best seen after a few beers and some should be teetotal to gain the benefits.

Another of this ilk hits the silver screen soon. I Love You Beth Cooper, due July 2009. The trailer is interesting, with a few almost jokes that might be funny. Here’s the trailer; you be the judge.

Airplane made me laugh, ripped my sides and kept me amused. There’s Something About Mary was funny. Monty Python’s Life Of Brian had me laughing consistently. What’s similar throughout these movies is the constant quality gags arriving on a regular basis. The Carry On films and the early Pink Panther pictures were dependable. Current movie makers appear to consider two or three average jokes placed 20 minutes apart will suffice for a big seller; just get a couple of big name stars and the dollars will follow.

Which films made you really laugh? Which made you want to repeat the jokes to friends who couldn’t understand the humor because they didn’t see the same visual content that aids the joke?