I frequently say that I don’t ‘do stupid’ which is why I rarely see comedies let alone comment on them. (No “Bride Wars” for me.) Typical of most contemporary comedies, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is painful to watch – for the first 30 minutes. However, after the laborious first third, things change. That’s because the script stops mocking mall cops and starts satirizing movie action heroes (think “Die Hard” here) and there is genuine humor is watching Kevin James stumble his way through actions familiar to aficionados of action flicks. Paul Blart (James), a mall cop in a North Jersey mall, doesn’t get to carry a gun but has a Segway to ride around on. His ultimate dream is to join the New Jersey State Police force, but hypoglycemia has prevented him from completing the rigorous physical portion of the exam. In addition, he’s lonely. Even the online dating service his mother and daughter enroll him in reports no matches. He likes Amy (Jayma Mays), the operator of a kiosk in the mall, but he’s too shy to ask her out. When bad guys target Black Friday to take over the mall, Paul is the only one on the scene to rescue the hostages.
The overweight Paul is an unlikely action hero and James plays him with comic abandon. It’s fun watching him get the better of his opponents, using the mall environment to his advantage. The Rainforest Café is a creative setting for one encounter and the very cool Segway provides a humorous sidekick for Paul. This is a silly story that plays to its strength: Kevin James’ genuine sincerity. 1/18/09
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