Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

When a shopping mall is overtaken by a gang of organized crooks, it's up to the a mild-mannered security guard to save the day.

Director:

Steve Carr

Writers:

Kevin James, Nick Bakay

Stars:

Kevin James, Keir O'Donnell, Jayma Mays

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin James	...	Paul Blart
Keir O'Donnell	...	Veck Simms
Jayma Mays	...	Amy
Raini Rodriguez	...	Maya
Shirley Knight	...	Mom
Stephen Rannazzisi	...	Stuart
Peter Gerety	...	Chief Brooks
Bobby Cannavale	...	Cmdr. James Kent
Adam Ferrara	...	Sergeant Howard
Jamal Mixon	...	Leon
Adhir Kalyan	...	Pahud
Erick Avari	...	Vijay
Gary Valentine	...	Karaoke Singer
Allen Covert	...	Jerky Security Guy
Mike Vallely	...	Rudolph

Storyline

Paul Blart is a mild-mannered man who works as a security guard in a New Jersey mall. For years, he has applied to become a cop, but he always fails the physical exam because he is overweight. One day, a gang of organized criminals put the mall under siege and take hostages. Blart becomes trapped inside, and because of his sense of duty, refuses to leave. He thus becomes the police department's eyes on the inside and attempts to stop the criminals on his own.

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Plot Keywords:

mall | security guard | cell phone | hostage | shopping mall | 

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Taglines:

Now, Help Is On The Way. Until Then, There's Paul Blart.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Sony

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mall Cop

Filming Locations:

Burlington Mall - 75 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,289,513 (UK) (20 March 2009)

Gross:

$146,336,178 (USA) (22 May 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Happy Madison Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

By the time this movie was released in American theaters, there were no longer any Sharper Image retail stores.

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Goofs

When Paul is in American Joe's participating in the nacho eating contest, he grabs a glass with ice in it to pour a drink. After he pours the drink, the "ice" stays on the bottom of the glass, as the cubes were likely made out of glass.

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Quotes

Veck Sims: When are you gonna give up, Blart?
Paul Blart: How about now? I'll meet you on the corner of "NE" and "VER"!

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Crazy Credits

Two additional scenes play during the closing credits.

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Connections

References College (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Runaway"
Written by Jon Bon Jovi and George Karakoglou
Courtesy of Chartbuster Karaoke

User Reviews

About as good as a movie called Paul Blart: Mall Cop could be

If Paul Blart: Mall Cop had been made 20 years ago, it would have starred John Candy. That's a complement, by the way. Candy had a knack for playing bungling, yet good-hearted people who mainly wanted to please. He certainly specialized in playing people who tried too hard to be nice to cover up past pain. There's a lot of this in Kevin James' performance as the title character here. He's more than just a comic goofball. James turns him into a likable and surprisingly sympathetic hero that we find ourselves cheering for by the end.

Kevin James rose to fame on television starring on the sitcom, The King of Queens, and has been trying to break into movies for a while now. He's acted along side stars like Will Smith and Adam Sandler, but this is his first shot at a stand-alone starring role. Sandler is still there behind the scenes (His Happy Madison production company produced the film.), but this is James' film all the way, and he doesn't waste the opportunity. His Paul Blart is admirable in a way. He's overweight and he suffers from hypoglycemia, but he always tries to do the right thing. He's passionate about his job as a mall cop, but he'd really like to be a police officer on the street. He's taken the physical entrance exam many times, but his health problems have prevented him from finishing. He makes up for his shortcomings by being the best mall cop he can be, and by also being a good single father to his teen daughter (Raini Rodriguez), who respects him and wishes he could fall in love again. Paul has his eyes on a young woman named Amy (Jayma Mays), who also works at the mall. The first half hour or so of the film is devoted to Paul's life, and it certainly helps us get into his corner when the actual plot kicks in.

It's Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, and some high tech criminals stage a lock down and a hostage situation at the mall as they pull off their theft plan. They place motion sensors and small bombs at the entrances, so no one can get in or out. They think they've removed everyone from the building, but didn't notice Paul was in the back of the arcade playing Guitar Hero. When he emerges from the arcade, he quickly learns about the hostage situation, and discovers that both Amy and his daughter are amongst them. This kicks off the main action, where Paul must use his resources around him to out think and outrun the criminals while keeping everyone alive. I liked this aspect of the story, and how Paul Blart actually has to be clever in order to outsmart the captors. The movie is rated PG, so it's never too violent or scary for kids, which is the perfect target audience for the film. They'll like the film's gentle and goofy humor, and accompanying adults may find themselves charmed by Blart himself.

I never laughed out loud while watching this movie, but I did smile a lot, and I found myself caring more about the main character than I imagined. Let me tell you, that's more than I expected walking into a movie called Paul Blart: Mall Cop. There's plenty of sweetness during the early moments, establishing Paul's shy relationship with Amy, and the caring one he shares with his daughter. When the time comes for him to be a hero, we can cheer for him, because the movie makes him into a true underdog. He's constantly battling with his own shortcomings and health issues, and it's clever the way he keeps on finding ways to keep himself going, driven by saving the ones he loves. If I'm making the movie sound too serious, it's not. There's plenty of slapstick gags, surprisingly no bodily fluid or toilet humor to be found, and some pretty good physical comedy on display. If there's any major shortcoming to be found, it's that the movie is pretty inconsequential, and will probably be forgotten by me a few months from now.

Still, considering the kind of junk that usually clogs theaters in early January, Paul Blart certainly is not bad. I imagine the movie will make a good rental, since its somewhat small scale will make it perfect for watching on TV rather than the big screen. If anything, it's one step closer to making James the cross-over star he obviously wants to be. I wouldn't mind seeing the same kind of likability he gives here in a less juvenile script. He's on to something here, he's just gotta find the project where he really knocks one out of the park.