Paul

It’s always a pleasure to see people taking life into their own hands; especially when it comes to the arts! 2011’s ‘Paul’ was written by long-time friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost whom also starred in the movie. Both English Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are writers, actors and producers of their own vision and that’s a heap of inspiration for all those with ideas they wish to bring to fruition.  

This Adventure/Comedy/Sci-Fi exceeded my expectations. I was very skeptical in the beginning but the film was very well made and gave high delivery on the laughs! There was romance, comedy, action, adventure and sentimental moments too. Well-written, great acting and loads of ‘a-hah’ moments that not only kept the audience entertained but stimulated throughout! 

Pegg and Frost spent $40 million USD to hire some of today’s big honchos in the acting world and had the film directed by Greg Mottola. Bringing the laughs and adding their star power were  Blythe Danner, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Jesse Plemons, Jane Lynch, Bobby Lee, Jeffrey Tambor, and Canadian Seth Rogen as the voice of ‘Paul’.

The Change-Up

2011’s ‘The Change-Up’ written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and directed by David Dobkin, was a light Comedy starring the usual suspects. This time, no leading lady, but two leading men, Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. You’ll want to keep the children inside for this one; this film is Rated R for very strong sexual content, nudity and drug-use; which although I found un-necessary at times did turn out to make me laugh. 

Hollywood has excelled at the cookie-cutter recipe for movies depending on genre; for this instance, comedy, there was a lot of crude and provocative humour, followed by retrospection, the ‘a-hah’ moment and then the heart-warming and positive ending. Not a bad formulae but a bit mundane at this point.

Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde also join in the fun as love interests and capture not only the hearts with their chemistry with cast-mates but with the audience as well. ‘The grass isn’t always greener on the other side’; a great reminder that we can’t always fill the shoes of someone else!