Released: 2009
Reviewed: 10.12.09
Star Rating: 3 out of 5
Kevin James (Paul), Keir O'Donnell (Veck), Jayma Mays (Amy), Raini Rodriguez (Maya), Peter Gerety (Chief Brooks), Bobby Cannavale (Commander Kent), Erick Avari (Vijay), Allen Covert (Guard).
Paul Blart is a mall cop with dreams of joining the New Jersey police though he has failed to be accepted many times. Living at home with his mom and daughter, he is resigned to forever being a mall cop but when criminals take over the entire mall he takes his job seriously and tries to save the hostages.
With some good character development up front and out of the way the film then slips into the plot which, though pretty simple, was also decently done with only a few plot holes. The comedy is non-stop with slapstick, one-liners, and silly situations. The only problem is that you can see them coming from so far away they just aren't that funny and the movie never develops the full-on belly laugh that you keep expecting.
James is a funny guy and for his size his physical abilities are amazing. Though he was good in this film, he just didn't seem to deliver his lines with the energy he has had with other projects. O'Donnell did nicely as did Gerety while Cannavale and Covert delivered as usual doing a great job supporting.
Sets and background were nicely done and the movie was filmed in an actual shopping mall in New Jersey. Action was decent with James giving a great physical performance. Effects were minimal and mainly used to support the humor. Soundtrack was great with plenty of nice 80's tunes while dialogue was silly as expected. Camera work and sound were also well done.
Overall this was a nice family comedy that, although entertaining, wasn't as funny as expected. Some violence, mild crude humor, and mild foul language so this should be fine for preens and above. For family movie night put this toward the top of your Must See list, otherwise leave it at the bottom.
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