Paul Blart: Mall Cop Review

My husband and I don't go to the movies often but, when we do, we expect to get our money's worth in entertainment. We saw the previews for Paul Blurt: Mall Cop starring Kevin James (King of Queens and Hitch). They were really funny and we were in the mood for something lighthearted and humorous. We saw the movie and were not disappointed!

We have always liked Kevin James and while we weren't expecting too much, we figured at least we'd be somewhat entertained. I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised. It was really entertaining and quite funny!

Without any spoilers, here is a quick synopsis of the premise of the movie:

Kevin James plays Paul Blart, a mall cop with a deep desire to be a New Jersey state trooper. He has never been able to pass the physical test because he is hypoglycemic (which results in a number of humorous scenes in the movie). He lives at home with his mother and daughter but pines to be with a woman who can love and appreciate him. At the mall, he develops a crush on one of the kiosk women by the name of Amy (played by Jayma Mays) and his lack of social skills results in some funny moments of interaction with her. One particular night when the mall closes, a group of thugs take over the mall for financial gains (the premise of which I won't spoil) and in the process takes hostages, one of which is the main characters crush. Paul Blart decides to stay in the mall instead of evacuating so he can try to keep Amy safe as well as to "save the day". We found ourselves cheering for him to win against the bad guys. The surprise ending was a great bonus to good movie.

The Good

The plot will never win an Oscar but it is sufficient in setting the atmosphere for Kevin James to ply his talent at slapstick comedy and use his portly stature to great comedic affect. In some of the scenes, there was obviously a stunt double. The scenes that there weren't, completely surprised us with how nimble Kevin James is for a man of his size. The action and events were placed well apart, the movie never seemed to drag and the laughs while leaning more on the slapstick side, were genuinely funny and made us laugh.

While an overall fun movie, there were a few points that were a bit annoying. For one, the bad guys did acrobatics and stunts that seemed over the top. While the younger crowd may be entertained by this, it definitely caused us to think "what the heck?" as it just came out of nowhere. The love interest plot also kind of felt flat as it never really overly developed. It was almost like "why did they bother?"

My Final Viewpoint

While it is definitely not going to win any awards, it is a very fun film that will leave you feeling good leaving the theater. It will make you laugh and smile and it was definitely worth the expense of today's pricey theater trip. While geared towards the PG crowd, the film has something for everyone in the family. I'm giving this movie a 4 star rating.