Paul Blart: Mall Cop (PG)
Scott:
Tonight, I am reviewing Paul Blart: Mall Cop
the story of what would really happen at your local mall if criminals took it over. Mall Cops are so cool; I think this has to be based on real life or something…
All kidding aside, it was a funny movie. Unlike so many of the comedies lately, there wasn’t an eff word to be found, no really, there wasn’t.
Kevin James stars as Paul Blart and he is a security guard, or security officer (there’s a debate as to which), at the local mall. He takes his job very seriously and it seems he is the only one to do so. And because he takes his job seriously he is the object of ridicule by almost everyone. He has a loving, if enabling, family and his job, and that’s all he has.
Blart’s life changes when a new hair extension/wig kiosk opens in the mall and he meets Amy (Jayma Mays). Instantly, he falls in love. You get the feeling that he rarely falls in love at first site. You also feel like his relationships never end up well.
Soon enough some skateboarding, free running, bmx-ing crooks take over the mall. If you don’t know what free running is, look it up, it’s neat. Most of the crooks are stunt men and it showed. They didn’t do a lot of talking, but the moves more than made up for it.
The movie follows a standard plot you’ve seen a hundred times, but it was ok here. Just because you know where you’re going doesn’t mean the ride isn’t fun. Mostly, you get to see mild-mannered Blart turn into super-hero Blart with a few detours along the way.
This is Kevin James second ‘big’ movie. I’m glad to see he is finally getting some play on the big screen. After years of being funny as the lead actor on King of Queens, it’s nice to see him move along.
Mays looked really familiar to me and it took IMDB (as always) to remind me of where I saw her. She was on Heroes for a short time, which is where I remember her from. She has also appeared on several other popular shows like House and Ugly Betty.
The movie was produced by Happy Madison productions so Adam Sandler’s usual suspects were in the movie. I often wonder if they are in any other movies. A couple notable faces did show up, one you might recognize, and one you might not.
The crazy dude on the Karaoke machine is King of Queens actor Gary Valentine. Keir O’Donnell played security guard trainee Veck Sims. His most memorable role was as Todd Cleary in Wedding Crashers.
Director Steve Carr has done several kids movies. This one probably is the most tame. It doesn’t have kids making adults look stupid. The adults take care of that themselves.
I give this movie a 3 out of 5 overall and a 3 out of 5 for a comedy. It’s not like other Happy Madison movies and in this case, that’s a good thing.
