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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.

Never watched King of Queens, never have been a Kevin James fan but always liked him better than his pal Ray Romano. I was coerced into seeing this Mall Cop movie. I give it a 6 out of 10. Now some may say that is a low rating, some may say better than mediocre.....for me who normally does not like this guys type of humor, this is a great rating!!! It was mildly entertaining...for me it gets the extra star to put it at 6 because it's refreshing to see some humor that's not overly sarcastic, deeply degrading to someone else (except the title character), or just downright cruel. This relied on what I call "Bill Cosby" sense of humor. Funny but overall clean. A bit cheesy, but I think that's what Kevin and the screenwriters were going for. Normally I don't get why people think he's funny but in this case, I did get it....and you can't help but like the guy. Without giving any detail, the bar scene for me was one of the most Laugh Out Loud moments in the movie. The way KJ zips around on the Segway is pretty hilarious although because of it's consistency throughout the movie it wears off a bit. I agree with previous reviews of how the villains kind of downgraded the movie a bit. If that was smarter, or those parts were rewritten, it could have been a lot funnier. Another surprising aspect is Kevin's agility, and athleticism. In this particular movie he is very physical (or at least stunt doubles allow him to appear that way) Overall my 6 out of 10 rating should be perceived as a great rating for this movie. I previously never liked this actor, I thought the title was dumb as dirt, and although I always keep an open mind I would be lying if I didn't say that my expectations were very, very low for this. Certainly not as bad as I thought it would be, and not as great as I thought it could have been. Kevin and cast made this a little better than average...and it changed my mind about my hesitation with this guy....I hope someone puts him in a good movie with a great script in the future (better than Chuck and Larry, Hitch). I believe it will do well on cable. One last thing that I must mention was great, at 82 mins...it was just long enough to not overdue what should be viewed as a kinda silly concept.

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.

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" from 2009 stars Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Shirley Knight, Bobby Cannavale, and Keir O'Donnell.

Paul Blart works for mall security after not making it to the police academy. He acts as if he's guarding the White House, stopping people in motorized carts for infractions, reporting in even though his boss asks who it is, and going a little overboard in his handling of a new trainee.

He hasn't dated since his green card marriage blew up, but he sees a young woman at one of the kiosks, Amy (Jayma Mays) and falls head over heels. After he makes a complete fool of himself at a bar, she seems less friendly.

When a gang announces the mall is closing early and starts an organized takeover and captures hostages, including Amy, Paul is fooling around with a guitar and singing in one of the stores. Therefore when the mall is locked, he's stuck in the mall. And it falls to him to do something about the robbery and the danger to the hostages.

Normally the last thing I watch is films like this. These past two weeks I've seen two. It's since the election. I have needed films to numb my mind. Kevin James makes me laugh with his slapstick and cluelessness, so it was fine.

It's predictable, it's funny in spots, it seems to go on longer than necessary, but by far it is not the worst thing I've ever seen. And for a change with today's comedy, it didn't have vulgar jokes.

This last week I watched Netflix's True Memoirs of an International Assassin, also with Kevin James, to give you an idea of what all the divisiveness and hate of this election has done to me.

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.