Paul Blart: Mall Cop

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Movie Details

• Genre: Comedy
• Release Date: 2009-01-16 Nationwide
• Running Time: 87 min.
• Director: Steve Carr
• Cast: Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O'Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Rannazzisi, Shirley Knight
• Producer: Todd Garner, Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Kevin James, Barry Bernardi
• Writer: Nick Bakay, Kevin James
• Distributor: Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures
• Official Site: Paul Blart: Mall Cop Official Site

Somewhere beneath its mediocre comedic trappings, there’s a decent action movie trying to fight its way free from Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and it stars Kevin James as an overweight regular Joe who can use only the items in the mall where he works to fight obnoxious extreme sports athletes with guns. Done as an all-out battle to the death, it could be an entertaining mix of Die Hard and The A-Team; the movie briefly sputters to life when the passive policeman-in-training actually has to fight, and becomes a badass for a second or two. Alas, it takes forever for the plot proper to kick in—meanwhile, there are endless fat jokes that even Chris Farley would have rejected, and numerous plugs for the Segway and PerfectMatch.com. That this is a Happy Madison production suggests that James’s starring role here is a reward for being in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry; that previous Adam Sandler rewards to his friends have included Grandma's Boy and Strange Wilderness ought to be sufficient warning of what to expect.