I remember this movie being in theaters for a long while and finally saw it. How can something so average bring in so much money? Maybe with the title "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" people were mistaking it for a new Will Farrell or John C Reilly movie like "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" or "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox story" With a name like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, I can't blame them for the confusion.
The story has tubby single father and now living back at home, Paul Blart as a mall cop at a New Jersey mall. He does his best to make the mall run like a well oiled machine by keeping things under controll, even if it means giving a ticket for someone riding their scooter too fast in the mall. While training a new partner during the height of the Christmas rush, the mall one night comes under attack by robbers who want to steal the malls money. Paul gets wind of whats going on and a slipshod Die Hard parody ensues but hilarity doesn't where Paul goes from a zero to a sort of hero, but he's still fat.
I wasn't entertained. Parts that are supposed to be funny are sad and other then Paul's daughter and the nice kiosk lady that Paul bothers to go out with, there are no characters that I liked either since everyone is a jerk or not well developed.
No, this didn't fulfill any expectations with even the idea of making a movie about mall/rent a cops being losers and trying to make it funny, especially when it's not a fresh cliche.
The movie's trailer really did try to put some hype with Kevin James the star doing silly things like using his bulk to break down a mall store's door or trying to slide across the floor for cover and coming up short. They got a small giggle out of me in the trailer, but I knew they were coming in the movie and didn't make me laugh there.
Being put out by Happy Madison and having a popular comedian starring, this is very mainstream and not hard to find. The fact it was a huge hit helps too.
A Negatvie 2 goes to Paul and his sillyness. Thats what the movie is, silly, that or sappy or just plain sad. While there are a couple of fun moments too many of them are stretched out and too many of the jokes that are SUPPOSED to be funny is the audience laughing at what a sad sack Paul is when, it isn't funny. After you show the guy running the police obstacle course bloated, out of shape and with sweat under his man boobs and going home to use food (blackberry pie with peanut butter to be precise) to hide his misery, do you REALLY find this guy funny or even sympathetic? I hate to say this about a nice guy but man what a loser.
The tone is even inconsistent with Paul tackling and tying up bad guys but later on having a BOMB blow up a bad guy. We went from fat jokes, jokes about eating too much, jokes about the hero being a loser to the hero springing into action against the bad guys and even getting one of them BLOWN UP. No movie tag line about no to fight the fat, or anything like that as sort of revenge?
Reccomend the movie to someone who likes Kevin James or someone whos a fan of Adam Sandler movies and wants to see the latest his production company comes up with next. That or if you liked the idea of Observe and Report (the OTHER mall cop comedy out later the same year) but got turned off by it's R rating and want something a little softer and lighter.
Years ago, I saw one of the last movies Chris Farley made called Beverly Hills Ninja, about another fat misfit who springs into action when the time comes and I remember how bad THAT movie was. Except THIS movie was a hit and not as funny and THAT movie actually had some laughs with a similar presance but flopped. Proof why the below average will always survive. I'm depressed-now I need some pie with peanut butter.
