Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
Directed by Steve Carr
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.
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With a nod to the western classic, “Destry Rides Again,” he does it all without using a gun.
His mettle is tested, however, when thieves take over the centre and take hostages, Die Hard-style.
In particular, Die Hard .
The film finally springs to life as Blart does when criminal types take over the mall and hold various employees hostage in a blatantly Die Hard scenario; at last James has something to work with and room to take command.
The plot makes no sense, although it makes more sense than the last "Die Hard" movie.
The film turns into Die Hard-in-a-mall when computer whiz Veck Sims (Keir O'Donnell) and his team of—get this—young BMX, skateboard and parkour punks empty the place save for six hostages, then barricade themselves and go about gathering codes from credit-card machines.
A high-concept mash-up of "Die Hard" and "Kung Fu Panda," "Blart" gives sitcom star Kevin James a showcase for broad-comedy pratfalls, providing him 87 minutes to plop, flop and crash into things, highlights of which have been playing nonstop on Nickelodeon for the last two weeks.
Co-produced by Adam Sandler, "Mall Cop" has an innate sweetness that's reminiscent of Sandler's 1998 romantic comedy "The Wedding Singer," although the laughs don't quite reach those levels.
Playing the lonely-but-upbeat security guard Paul Blart, James seems to be going for the same sad-sack vibe that John Candy achieved two decades ago in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," but he ends up closer to Robin Williams' character in "One Hour Photo."
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Blart pompously mentors a rookie guard (Keir O'Donnell, channeling Heathers-era Christian Slater to good effect) and clumsily courts Amy (Jayma Mays), proprietress of the mall's "Unbeweaveable" wig kiosk.
The plan of the thieves is sensationally stupid, guaranteed to call attention to their scheme, easy to thwart, possibly inspired by watching " Dog Day Afternoon " while drunk.
James co-wrote it with "King of Queens" producer/writer Nick Bakay, then handed the directorial reins to Steve Carr, whose previous PG comedies, which include "Daddy Day Care," "Rebound," and "Are We Done Yet?," should not have inspired confidence.
Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care) directs the story of Paul Blart (James), an overweight, hypoglycaemic shopping mall security officer who has aspirations of becoming a New Jersey cop.
If this weren't a major studio movie from a high successfully production company, with a hit sitcom's star and a director of $100 million hits (Eddie Murphy's Dr. Dolittle 2 and Daddy Day Care) plus a low-budget major-moneymaker (Next Friday), I might have used more judicious language.
Director Steve Carr, an old hand with flavorless family films (“Daddy Day Care,” “Are We Done Yet?”), backs James with curious moments of roughhouse stunt work.
The genial James has an appealing everyman quality, but the movie, written by James and his "King of Queens" writing partner Nick Bakay and directed by journeyman Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care"), too often settles for easy, lazy jokes, most of which revolve around either food or running into stuff.
Even more problematic is the direction by Steve Carr (Next Friday, Daddy Day Care, Dr. Dolittle 2), a typically reliable comedy helmer who, here, seems entirely out of his depth in staging the action sequences.
James co-wrote it with "King of Queens" producer/writer Nick Bakay, then handed the directorial reins to Steve Carr, whose previous PG comedies, which include "Daddy Day Care," "Rebound," and "Are We Done Yet?," should not have inspired confidence.
Director Steve Carr, an old hand with flavorless family films (“Daddy Day Care,” “Are We Done Yet?”), backs James with curious moments of roughhouse stunt work.
The fact that James cowrote the film lays the blame pretty squarely on him, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t factor in the largely nonexistent direction of Steve Carr, the man who brought us Are We Done Yet? (2007).
Rather than true lunacy, it's niceness that proves the order of the day, a lukewarm family-friendly innocuousness that positions the film alongside Carr's other kid-gloves duds ( Daddy Day Care , Are We Done Yet? ) as well as Cedric the Entertainer 's similar chubby-goofball-turned-hero groaner Code Name: The Cleaner .
"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" was directed by Steve Carr, the king of throwaway family movies whose past credits include 2005's " Rebound " and 2007's " Are We Done Yet? " He is in his comfort zone here, but a game Kevin James (2007's " I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry ") and a cute-as-a-button Jayma Mays (2007's " Epic Movie ") raise the proceedings all on their own above being thoroughly detestable.
3) Hire Steve Carr ("Are We Done Yet?") to direct the movie.
James co-wrote it with "King of Queens" producer/writer Nick Bakay, then handed the directorial reins to Steve Carr, whose previous PG comedies, which include "Daddy Day Care," "Rebound," and "Are We Done Yet?," should not have inspired confidence.
"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" was directed by Steve Carr, the king of throwaway family movies whose past credits include 2005's " Rebound " and 2007's " Are We Done Yet? " He is in his comfort zone here, but a game Kevin James (2007's " I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry ") and a cute-as-a-button Jayma Mays (2007's " Epic Movie ") raise the proceedings all on their own above being thoroughly detestable.
Granted, these scenes work on the page, but the execution is as flat and dull as director Steve Carr's other family-oriented films like Daddy Day Care and Rebound.
All the mall in this movie does is make you think how much you would rather be watching "Dawn of the Dead" or "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
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It rivals Code Name: The Cleaner (2007) and Witless Protection (2008) as the worst amateur-law-enforcer movie ever made.
It's a bit like Home Alone, come to think of it: James character has to outsmart these very agile skateboard riders and free-runners zooming around the mall.
The movie eventually heads toward a Home Alone kind of resolution, with the SWAT team and cops sequestered outside due to some silly plot devices, and Paul left alone with a mall full of resources to beat the baddies once and for all.
This is a film for people who miss the family-friendly and plot-thin slapstick of the "Home Alone" sequels, and it does deliver a few cheap laughs.