Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

"Has a few surprises in store. The biggest is James, an unexpectedly nimble master of the face-plant, the failed jump, and the lopsided tumble.  Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly
"...frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way.  Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
"...a comedy that aspires to be the sort of gentle crowd-pleaser John Hughes used to make.  Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times
"...as slam-bang preposterous as any R-rated comedy you can name.  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...James (executive producer, co-writer, star) has made this Sandleresque movie family-friendly, with very little swearing...  Travis Nichols, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Editor's Note IN THEATRES JANUARY 16, 2009: Coming off the finale of television's popular sitcom THE KING OF QUEENS and 2007's I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY, funnyman Kevin James takes the role of a single dad in this largely physical comedy, which the actor also co-wrote. Paul Blart (James) is a hard worker, but has never landed his dream job of being New Jersey state trooper due to his excess weight. Determined to support his mother and his daughter, Blart takes the slightly less glamorous post as the security guard at his local shopping mall. He never complains, approaching the job with impressive diligence and pride, but doesn't get much respect for it. It's only when a group of misfits in Santa's Helper disguises take hold of the mall and several hostages that Blart's would-be cop smarts come in handy and he gets a chance to shine. With a deadly situation on hand, Blart may finally be able to show the world (and his romantic interest, who just happens to be one of the hostages) what he's made of. Though the villains have several advantages over him, Blart has a Segway scooter and a big heart on his side. While many of its jokes come at the expense of James's extra pounds, the film ultimately makes its star out to be a hero. With his everyman appeal, James is well-suited to play Blart, showing that even average Joes can make a difference with the right attitude. PAUL BLART: MALL COP takes the banal out of the shopping mall, infusing a familiar setting with energy, laughs, and high-stakes drama.

	Stephen Rannazzisi
	Keir O'Donnell
	Kevin James
	Jayma Mays
	Shirley Knight
	Bobby Cannavale
	Barry Bernardi - Producer
	Todd Garner - Producer
	Jack Giarraputo - Producer
	Nick Bakay - Screenwriter
	Russ T. Alsobrook - Director of Photography
	Waddy Wachtel - Composer
	Jeff Sussman - Executive Producer
	Kevin James - Screenwriter
	Adam Sandler - Producer
	Kevin James - Producer
	Steve Carr - Director

Los Angeles Times
"A high-concept mash-up of DIE HARD and KUNG FU PANDA, BLART gives sitcom star Kevin James a showcase for broad-comedy pratfalls....The targeted tween audience will lap up James' antics..." 01/16/2009

Entertainment Weekly
"PAUL BLART: MALL COP has few surprises in store. The biggest is James, an unexpectedly nimble master of the face-plant..." -- Grade: B 01/16/2009

Chicago Sun-Times
"[A] slapstick comedy with a hero who is a nice guy...Everything is a sitcom until Officer Blart goes into action, in an astonishingly inventive cat-and-mouse chase..." 01/21/2009

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] Kevin James proving himself a nimble physical comedian....[An] endearing homage to Average Joe." 10/01/2009

ReelViews 7 of 10
After stumbling through a lackluster first 30 minutes that features all the tepid humor one might reasonably expect from a mediocre comedy, Paul Blart: Mall Cop does something unexpected: it becomes watchable, perhaps even passably enjoyable. That's because this movie elevates its objective from lampooning mall security guards to satirizing one of Hollywood's biggest genres: the action/crime movie. In particular, Die Hard. To be sure, the iconic 1988 Bruce Willis film has been the subject of numerous big-screen parodies during the past two decades, but none has succeeded as well as this one. Considering the dubious quality of many of them, that could be considered damning with faint praise. And, although Paul Blart is by no means great cinema, there is amusement to be uncovered as we watch Kevin James bumble his way through actions oh-so-similar to those navigated with more blood, sweat, profanity, and dead bodies than Willis. Too bad there's no "Yippekayay...," but this is rated PG...Kevin James possesses the Teddy Bear factor that served John Candy well. Like Candy, James is a big man and plays characters with big hearts. He's a refreshing change from the Sandlers and Carreys who have dominated motion picture comedies with their often mean-spirited antics over the past 1 1/2 decades...It's a juvenile motion picture designed primarily for a juvenile audience. But there's a little more here than one might reasonably expect and that makes it a passable choice for watching at home, when viewers tend to be less demanding. Certainly, the question of what Die Hard would have been like in a suburban mall with Kevin James as the hero offers the potential of a diverting 90 minutes. To the extent that this is Paul Blart: Mall Cop's goal, it can't be said to have failed. - James Berardinelli

San Francisco Chronicle 5 of 10
Remember just a few years ago, when the Segway Personal Transporter was going to reinvent the way we design our cities and live our lives?...The upright scooter has officially replaced the AMC Gremlin as Hollywood's No. 1 go-to sight gag. And it's pretty much the only punch line in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," the latest vehicle for comedian Kevin James to make a few dozen more self-deprecating jokes about his weight...Playing the lonely-but-upbeat security guard Paul Blart, James seems to be going for the same sad-sack vibe that John Candy achieved two decades ago in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," but he ends up closer to Robin Williams' character in "One Hour Photo." His attempts to woo a comely seller of hair extensions, played by Jayma Mays, are particularly creepy, as his courtship mostly consists of stalking the poor woman. Not since "Seinfeld" was on the air has a movie or TV show done more to promote the fantasy that hot women are really looking for schlubby guys with bad jobs and unbearable personalities..."Paul Blart" is one of those films that Adam Sandler produces but doesn't appear in. It's similar to "Grandma's Boy" and "The Benchwarmers," which feature Sandler-style humor on a much smaller budget. I suppose the food equivalent would be that nacho cheese that comes in a can with little chunks of jalapeno mixed in...In the defense of "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," the movie is rated PG, and clearly aimed to appeal to crowds that might be too young or prudish for "Role Models" or "Tropic Thunder." This is a film for people who miss the family-friendly and plot-thin slapstick of the "Home Alone" sequels, and it does deliver a few cheap laughs. It's pretty hard not to laugh when a Segway PT smashes into the back of a minivan. - Peter Hartlaub