We just got back from seeing this movie and have declared ourselves fans of Kevin James. We loved him in "Hitch" and now we love him as the Mall Cop.
He is a vigorous man, light on his feet for someone who is on the heavy side. But let me be very clear on this, he is a cute guy, in like handsome and attractive because of his bulk, not in spite of it. He exudes vulnerability, sweetness and he makes us like him. I hope he never plays a bad guy. I looked him up on IMDB and his career looks like it has always been on the comedic side, so I think we are safe there.
This movie was tailor made for him and this would be because he co-wrote it.
He is Paul Blart, a mall cop on a Segway who takes his job very, very seriously. (Segway sales will probably climb now....) Paul and the Segway move as one and it's clear that many of the scenes are written around it's use.
Paul's earnestness regarding his job lead to some hilarious encounters. The elderly wheelchair speeder, the fight between to women over the last push up bra at Victoria's Secret and more. This is a very physical part for Kevin James and he performs the stunts and falls with great zeal insomuch as they look like they probably hurt some (if he did even some of them, they look that way).
The story line in brief: A single dad with one daughter and living with his mother, Paul Blart has failed at the state police academy multiple times. Not because he can't do the physical stuff, but because he is hypoglycemic and sort of just passes out sometimes. To combat this, he ingests tubes of sugar with a flourish that only Kevin James can pull off. He is in love with the cute, mall kiosk girl, she shows interest but then he manages to get incredibly and innocently drunk and make a utter fool of himself. It goes on and suffice to say he redeems himself and wins her over. His redemption comes in the form of a big mall crime that he singlehandedly squashes.
We laughed a lot. We felt good when we left. We didn't feel abused like we sometimes do after leaving the movies. We didn't hear one bad word, see anyone half or wholly naked and any violence was slapstick. Despite it's lack of these typical Hollywood scenarios, it was not a boring or goody two shoes movie. It was just good.
You can't ask for much more than that.
RATING FOR PAUL BLART: MALL COP
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