Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

Similar to my recent review of My Bloody Valentine 3D, I love a surprise. I never imagined a movie about a doughy mall cop played by the heretorfore star of a lame sitcom, Kevin James aka The King of Queens, would be anything other than a waste of time. Once again, I am happy to be proven wrong. Paul Blart Mall Cop is a goofball movie but it's one terrific goof.

Kevin James stars as the titular Mall Cop. Paul is a guy who has failed in his attempt to become a New Jersey State Trooper 7 times. Paul is hypoglycemic and when he doesn't get enough sugar he passes out cold. This condition has doomed Paul to nearly a decade as a mall security guard.
Good natured Paul takes his role very seriously, tracking mall traffic patterns, pulling over oldsters on scooters for reckless riding and training new guards in how to pretend they have a weapon. Despite his dedication and obvious sweetness, Paul is continuously taken advantage of and humiliated by shoppers and co-workers alike.
Nevertheless, with the help of a little Barry Manilow and a touch of Survivor, Paul always bounces back. Thus, when his mall is attacked by thieves with an overly elaborate and odd scheme, Paul becomes just the man to thwart them. Complicating matters are the hostages who include Paul's 12 year old daughter Maya (Raini Rodriguez) and the girl Paul has been crushing on for weeks, Amy ( the crush-worthy Jayma Mays).

Paul Blart Mall Cop was directed by Steve Carr, not a director known for skilled comic timing. His credits include the abysmal Eddie Murphy kiddie flick Daddy Day Care. Thankfully, the script was co-written by star Kevin James and comedian Nick Bakay who play off James's innate likability to sell a goofball PG action movie plot.
Early on, James and Bakay overdo Paul's many humiliations but once they get into the mall on black friday, things pick up and the Kevin James rolli polli charm offensive begins. Battling bad guys with guns, James is like a big tough teddy bear. He wins you over with his sweetness and then when he starts kicking butt you can barely hold back from cheering aloud.
I must note that this film was produced by Adam Sandler who I feel has tried to make this movie before for himself and for others like Rob Schneider. Loud, violent with an ironic soundtrack and a bit with a dog. But, Sandler can't do it without delving into the dark side of his psyche where exists his taste for disgusting, bodily function humor and angry recrimination.
Where Sandler scores cheap points with his confident anger and bathroom humor, James is much smarter and oddly more subtle. James does a Sandler movie without ever really indulging any Sandler-isms. No bathroom humor, no bizarre bursts of rage, just a sweet guy in a desperate situation whose reactions to this outlandish situation are where the jokes come from.

Final

Since Paul Blart: Mall Cop was released back in January another movie about a Mall Cop has hit theaters and the two couldn't be more different. Observe and Report starring another lovable slob, Seth Rogan, is like Paul Blart: Mall Cop shot through the warped lens of Scorsese's Taxi Driver and the Judd Apatow ouevre. The two will make one wondrously bizarre double feature someday. The light and the dark of the Mall based comedy.

In the end, Kevin James is such a skilled and committed physical comic and such a winning personality that you can't help but laugh repeatedly with him and come to love the guy. Paul Blart Mall Cop is just pure fun.