Special Movie Review - Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Paul Blart: Mall Cop


I love Kevin James. I'm not lying; I have a big man-crush on him. Ever since The King of Queens started up, I have tuned in to see what James has had in store, and when Queens ended, I broke down a little. Well, not really, but I was sad to see it go. Now, I go out of my way to see something new from him, and I jumped at the chance to catch this flick.

It's not hard to imagine Kevin James as a mall cop. When adding that goofy mustache a la Jason Giambi, James personifies the exact stereotype of mall security. And so, as most things go, Paul Blart's outward appearance is a reflection of his personality - a serious worker, loving father, overall nice guy, and a little bit of a geek. But who doesn't love a geek? Over the course of the first half of the film, Blart reveals his dilemma; he's a good guy who doesn't have a good woman, except that one time when he was courted by an immigrant who used him to drop her kid off. Blart lives with his mom, feasting off of her cooking and working hard to become a New Jersey police officer. He keeps failing the test, but he continues his job as mall cop, and one day meets a woman selling wigs at a stand. Her name is Amy (Jayma Mays), and Blart immediately falls for her - literally and metaphorically, of course. Blart also trains a new guy, Veck Sims (Kier O'Donnell), gets pwned by douchebag pen salesman Stuart (Stephen Rannazzisi), and gets drunk at a party, where he embarrasses himself in front of Amy, who becomes disenchanted with his antics.


It's all going downhill for Blart when, while he's off playing Rock Band, robbers take over the mall and take Amy hostage. Led by Veck, the group wants the codes to the money in the mall, and it is up to Blart to save the day as he is put in the situation that he has always wanted - to be the hero, like a real cop. Of course, not everything is what it seems, and there are a few twists and turns to leave the viewer in suspense.

Mall Cop is billed a comedy, but its entertainment value far exceeds its genre tag. While the film is funny, it's not hilarious, and most of the laughs come from either Blart making a fool of himself, people hurting themselves, or both at the same time. In a way, it is basic slapstick, and a scene in which Blart drives himself into a minivan while staring at Amy seems awfully familiar. And yet Mall Cop succeeds in just this way by delving into familiar territory, because another part of the comedy is focused on parody of other films. The beginning reminisces much about romantic comedy, the middle becomes an action film (which tends to get to the core of what made Die Hard so interesting), throws in a little Home Alone feel with Blart's tendency to use his knowledge of the mall to thwart his enemies, and towards the end begins to feel like a murder mystery with its twists of good and bad characters. The film does a damn good job of captivating the audience with its satire, and for the initiated viewer, the subtle parodies will really add to the fun as they point out what movie the scene was taken from.


With that being said, Mall Cop does present some problems. There are some plot points that are brought up but never addressed, like the fact that Veck seems to have some sort of crush on Amy as well. There's also something to be said about the fact that all of the crooks are X-Games dropouts, skateboarding and doing extreme jumps off of escalators - I just wonder what that was all about. Was it just for the humor? Because Blart had little trouble taking them out even with them being able to run twice as fast as him.

However, Blart is a really likable character, and the audience wants to see him be the hero and get the girl. I guess this is an important feature for the film to have, as that is the overall story arc, but it excels because of James' personality and shtick. Think Doug Heffernan of The King of Queens, only with a mustache. Anyway, Blart kicks it into overdrive, dropping his nice-guy attitude for a revenge-driven lust as he kicks butt and snares bad guys with Rainforest Cafe vines.


There's definitely some ACK-SHEE-ON (as Doug Heffernan would say) going on here as well, and James does his stunts well and with flair. Flair I say! He looks good on the Segway, too; he's got the hip swivel down. Most of the action, again, is very reminiscent of Die Hard, and even takes place around Christmastime like the aforementioned movie. The extreme stunts pulled off by the code-stealing baddies are pretty sweet and made me want to vault over stuff.


If you're looking for a no-holds-barred comedy affair, Mall Cop might not be the best bet. But if you like parodies, or Kevin James, the film has its share of exciting and entertaining sequences, and a couple of surprising events that keep the movie rolling. If you can get into it after the opening scenes, which are a tad bit slow, then the movie is a pretty fun experience. Just as an end note, however, I was expecting a little bit more from the film than what I got, if only because I have high expectations for James and Happy Madison productions in general.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop on Rotten Tomatoes