"Paul" (R, Now available)

As regular readers know, I am a massive fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. This is why it pains me so much to say that their newest film, "Paul," just doesn't quite connect.

Clive (Frost) and Graeme (Pegg), best friends since childhood, share a life-long love of science fiction and have always wanted to take a road trip together. Using Comic-Con in San Diego as their starting point, the two Brits are at last fulfilling their fantasy of visiting southwestern UFO landmarks in an RV. Imagining how he might react upon meeting an extraterrestrial, Clive suggests he'd be cool as a cucumber. Little does he know that theory is going to be put to the test.

Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), a little green man on the run from G-man Zoil (Jason Bateman), happens to cross paths with these two guys who want to believe. As it turns out, Clive's reaction isn't exactly what he'd expected.

Written by Pegg and Frost and directed by Greg Mottola ("Superbad," "Adventureland"), "Paul" starts slow and, while it picks up, it falls short in ways I wouldn't have expected. For one it's never quite funny enough. Also, many interesting ideas about the characters are introduced but not as well explored as they ought to be. This is likely more to do with the film's edit than the script.

As expected, "Paul" is chock full of movie, TV, and comic book references, but unlike Pegg and Frost's earlier work, the references feel shoehorned in rather than being a part of the movie's fabric. If I had to guess, I'd say the problem is that this time Pegg and Frost are missing the magical touch of Edgar Wright, who co-wrote and directed "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." Maybe Mottola just doesn't quite have the knack for making references dance into a film the way Wright has.

As for what I liked, it was nice to see Frost playing an intelligent guy, and he does it every bit as well as he played the doofus in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." His interplay with Pegg is as strong as ever.

Pegg handles the awkward romance between his character and Kristen Wiig's nicely. Paul is also a terrific character, wonderfully brought to life through Rogen's voice work and the visual effects team. Paul still looked like a special effect but I completely bought into him and never felt as though I was watching anyone talking to a tennis ball on a stick.

Mottola is not known for directing action sequences and he handles those moments well. I wonder though if all of his attention to that caused him to lose his grip on the comedy or characters, things he handled impeccably in "Superbad" and "Adventureland."

It's a shame that "Paul" doesn't gel because it almost does. If I had to describe "Paul" in one word that would be it. Almost.

I look forward to what Pegg, Frost, and Mottola offer us next. I have a feeling that they won't miss again. 6.5/10