Paul teams Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who also wrote the script, with director Greg Mottola, who I think is one of the best directors working today.  You might be tempted to disagree, but remember, I will fight you.

The plot concerns best friends Graeme and Clive (get it? they’re British), two comic-book nerds traveling through the US who encounter an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) near Area 51.  If this were anyone but Pegg/Frost/Mottola, I’d probably say this looks really dumb, but since it’s them, I’m going to assume it’s a clever take off on the old we-found-an-alien-but-we-have-to-hide-him-from-the-government genre that was bizarrely ubiquitous in the late 80s (Alf, Out of This World, E.T., Mac & Me, Harry and the Hendersons {sorta}…). Mottola would seem to be the perfect choice, as he has a special gift for recreating that glowy nostalgic feel of an 80s comedy.  But more importantly, this better include an elaborate dance party set at McDonald’s:

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