Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are clever and endearing fellows. So one could easily expect the British duo of the zombie comedy “Shaun of the Dead” and the cop buddy riff “Hot Fuzz” to make their alien-meets-lads comedy “Paul” an out-of-this-world ride. Alas, it is not to be. There are chuckles, even some deep guffaws, as sci-fi guys and comic book creators Clive Gollings and Graeme Wily hook up with a real alien by the name of, well, you know.

But in the end — as well as the middle and maybe even at the outset — “Paul” is more often a close encounter of the middling kind.

Recommended Stories

Neil Young sues Trump over use of his song during rally

British national charged with assisting foreign intelligence in RAF Fairford incident

Two young Jews, two extremes, one question