Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

When a shopping mall is taken over by a gang of organized crooks, it's up to 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 & 3 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 has hypogmycemia and tends to pass out when his blood sugar is low. 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 cop | shopping mall | reference to scooby doo | single father | die hard scenario | 

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Taglines:

Don't Mess With His Mall!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of the movies from Happy Madison Productions that Adam Sandler co-produces without also acting, this is the most successful and the only one without Sandler on-screen to reach over $100 million.

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Goofs

When Paul falls through the roof at the mall his segway doesn't fall with him, but at the bottom, in the ball pit, he has the segway with him.

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Quotes

Maya Blart: [reading a dating website] Okay, next question. "Tell me about yourself."
Paul Blart: Let's see. I know a lot about sharks.
Mom: Let me stop you right there.

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Crazy Credits

Two additional scenes play during the closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

The film was originally shown to the UK censors, the BBFC, in an unfinished version. The BBFC advised the company that the film was likely to receive a '12A' classification but that the requested 'PG' certificate could be achieved by making changes in two scenes. In particular, the BBFC suggested that the lid of a sun bed slammed onto a character several times be reduced; and that an extended fight sequence also be reduced to remove some of the strongest blows. In this scene specifically, it was suggested that a blow to the face with a skateboard and dialogue which introduces and emphasises a headbutt be removed. When the finished version of the film was submitted for formal classification, these reductions had been made and the film was classified 'PG'.

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Connections

Referenced in Half in the Bag: Super and The Watchman (2011)

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Soundtracks

Take It on the Run
Written by Gary Richrath
Courtesy of Stingray Music

User Reviews

Needed Another Re-Write or Two

When I saw the premise of this movie, I had a chuckle. It had the potential to be a decently funny movie, something perhaps with heart, something that delivered a good deal of laughs and you walked out feeling good. I wasn't expecting an Academy Award winning movie. Its definitely not Oscar-worthy. The real disappointment lies in the lack of humor in it.

Paul Blart (Kevin James) is a mall cop that seems to have no direction in his life. They go to good lengths to show how truly depressing his life is. Paul sees a woman in his mall, Amy (Jayma Mays), running a stand for hair extensions. He realizes that he needs to be with her and tries to woo her, even though he has no self-esteem. Just as the story is falling apart, the mall where they both work is robbed in a supposedly sophisticated scheme. Suddenly our slovenly friend is thrust into a role where he can try to impress the love of his life and excel at his job at the same time. Easy to guess where this story is going, no?

The acting was okay, the direction was tolerable. The problem is the script. As I said, the story itself had potential. It just felt as if the writers could decide where this was a character they loved or hated. It really could have used another re-write or two to develop the script a little more. The movie is tolerable, but realize that not only are you not seeing an Oscar-worthy movie, but you'll be a little disappointed in the laughs as well. 3/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Sony

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mall Cop

Filming Locations:

Hanscom Field Airport, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,832,636, 18 January 2009

Gross USA:

$146,336,178

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$183,348,429

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