पॉल ब्लर्ट: मॉल पुलिस

I wasn't too sure about this movie when I saw the trailers. It looked like it might be a total waste of time, along the lines of "Delta Farce" or "Meet the Spartans". However, after reading some of the reviews, and being a fan of "King of Queens", I decided to check it out and was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed it. The casting was excellent, the screenplay was very good, and Kevin James fit the bill perfectly. I can't imagine anyone other than him playing the role of Paul Blart, Mall Cop.

Paul Blart is an overweight, hypo-glycemic (prone to fainting spells), shopping mall security guard who lives with him Mom and teenage daughter somewhere in North Jersey. Paul aspires to be a NJ State Police officer but cannot pass the required physical, and thus is consigned to his present job at a West Orange, NJ shopping mall. While Paul is on duty, a group of armed robbers attempt to steal the credit card receipts. The remainder of the film is Paul doing battle with this group of robbers. This sounds more serious than it is. Rest assured, it's a fun comedy with many funny gags / bits.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone who liked "King of Queens" or has an affinity for light-hearted comedies.

When I saw the premise of this movie, I had a chuckle. It had the potential to be a decently funny movie, something perhaps with heart, something that delivered a good deal of laughs and you walked out feeling good. I wasn't expecting an Academy Award winning movie. Its definitely not Oscar-worthy. The real disappointment lies in the lack of humor in it.

Paul Blart (Kevin James) is a mall cop that seems to have no direction in his life. They go to good lengths to show how truly depressing his life is. Paul sees a woman in his mall, Amy (Jayma Mays), running a stand for hair extensions. He realizes that he needs to be with her and tries to woo her, even though he has no self-esteem. Just as the story is falling apart, the mall where they both work is robbed in a supposedly sophisticated scheme. Suddenly our slovenly friend is thrust into a role where he can try to impress the love of his life and excel at his job at the same time. Easy to guess where this story is going, no?

The acting was okay, the direction was tolerable. The problem is the script. As I said, the story itself had potential. It just felt as if the writers could decide where this was a character they loved or hated. It really could have used another re-write or two to develop the script a little more. The movie is tolerable, but realize that not only are you not seeing an Oscar-worthy movie, but you'll be a little disappointed in the laughs as well. 3/10

If Paul Blart: Mall Cop had been made 20 years ago, it would have starred John Candy. That's a complement, by the way. Candy had a knack for playing bungling, yet good-hearted people who mainly wanted to please. He certainly specialized in playing people who tried too hard to be nice to cover up past pain. There's a lot of this in Kevin James' performance as the title character here. He's more than just a comic goofball. James turns him into a likable and surprisingly sympathetic hero that we find ourselves cheering for by the end.

Kevin James rose to fame on television starring on the sitcom, The King of Queens, and has been trying to break into movies for a while now. He's acted along side stars like Will Smith and Adam Sandler, but this is his first shot at a stand-alone starring role. Sandler is still there behind the scenes (His Happy Madison production company produced the film.), but this is James' film all the way, and he doesn't waste the opportunity. His Paul Blart is admirable in a way. He's overweight and he suffers from hypoglycemia, but he always tries to do the right thing. He's passionate about his job as a mall cop, but he'd really like to be a police officer on the street. He's taken the physical entrance exam many times, but his health problems have prevented him from finishing. He makes up for his shortcomings by being the best mall cop he can be, and by also being a good single father to his teen daughter (Raini Rodriguez), who respects him and wishes he could fall in love again. Paul has his eyes on a young woman named Amy (Jayma Mays), who also works at the mall. The first half hour or so of the film is devoted to Paul's life, and it certainly helps us get into his corner when the actual plot kicks in.

It's Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, and some high tech criminals stage a lock down and a hostage situation at the mall as they pull off their theft plan. They place motion sensors and small bombs at the entrances, so no one can get in or out. They think they've removed everyone from the building, but didn't notice Paul was in the back of the arcade playing Guitar Hero. When he emerges from the arcade, he quickly learns about the hostage situation, and discovers that both Amy and his daughter are amongst them. This kicks off the main action, where Paul must use his resources around him to out think and outrun the criminals while keeping everyone alive. I liked this aspect of the story, and how Paul Blart actually has to be clever in order to outsmart the captors. The movie is rated PG, so it's never too violent or scary for kids, which is the perfect target audience for the film. They'll like the film's gentle and goofy humor, and accompanying adults may find themselves charmed by Blart himself.

I never laughed out loud while watching this movie, but I did smile a lot, and I found myself caring more about the main character than I imagined. Let me tell you, that's more than I expected walking into a movie called Paul Blart: Mall Cop. There's plenty of sweetness during the early moments, establishing Paul's shy relationship with Amy, and the caring one he shares with his daughter. When the time comes for him to be a hero, we can cheer for him, because the movie makes him into a true underdog. He's constantly battling with his own shortcomings and health issues, and it's clever the way he keeps on finding ways to keep himself going, driven by saving the ones he loves. If I'm making the movie sound too serious, it's not. There's plenty of slapstick gags, surprisingly no bodily fluid or toilet humor to be found, and some pretty good physical comedy on display. If there's any major shortcoming to be found, it's that the movie is pretty inconsequential, and will probably be forgotten by me a few months from now.

Still, considering the kind of junk that usually clogs theaters in early January, Paul Blart certainly is not bad. I imagine the movie will make a good rental, since its somewhat small scale will make it perfect for watching on TV rather than the big screen. If anything, it's one step closer to making James the cross-over star he obviously wants to be. I wouldn't mind seeing the same kind of likability he gives here in a less juvenile script. He's on to something here, he's just gotta find the project where he really knocks one out of the park.

To those who gave this a three stars or less, what did you expect??? The movie is stupid alright but it is funny. Like a stupid but funny Die Hard. Many funny little stupid things. The air vent scene was funny. The squeaking shoes in the bank were funny. My only real complaint was the guy who they cast in the Hans Gruber role. He wasn't right. Maybe not a bad actor, just grossly miscast. Nimble Kevin was fine and so were most of everyone else. Above average musical score, which was a pleasant surprise.

Lame-but-charming with some laugh-out-loud moments is the best way I can sum up this comedy. Overall, it's pretty innocent, especially considering most comedies today. There is very little material that could be offensive.

It's a cliché these days in films, made popular by guys like the late John Candy - fat guys picked up and proving to be heroes and getting back at the thinner-and-nasty folks who torment them. Here, it is a few co-workers at the mall and the bad guys who want to rob it.

Meanwhile, our plump policeman, a security cop at a New Jersey mall, has his eyes on a pretty girl who runs a kiosk.....and you just know he'll win her - "Amy" (Jayma Mays) - in the end. (Hey, it's not real life, but we fat guys can dream, too!) Kevin James plays the Candy-esquire "Paul Blart," a state policeman-wannabe who winds up on his scooter being the ultra-straight cop/nerd for the mall. He, of course, is unlikeliest of heroes, but turns into Rambo when needed. Along the way are a bunch of sight gags and some insults, most of which produce laughs. Some are very funny.

In fact, overall the individual sight gags are funnier than the overall story but it want some nice humor and corny story that doesn't offend much, you could do a lot worse. It's got charm.