Kevin James’ Kiddie Vehicle Comes to DVD
Paul Blart is a perennial loser. For ten years now he’s been employed as a security guard when he’d really rather be a real cop. But after recently being rejected by the New Jersey State Police Academy because of his hypoglycemia, he’s pretty much resigned himself to making do as a security officer at a suburban mall in West Orange.
Unfortunately, his love life isn’t any better, having been abandoned by his illegal immigrant wife who disappeared as soon as she got her Green Card. Consequently, Paul has to rely on his mom (Shirley Knight) for help with raising his young daughter, Maya (Raini Rodriguez).
And because he’s overweight, clumsy and the butt of every joke among his friends and co-workers, he has lost all of his confidence when it comes to the opposite sex. So, although the tongue-tied nerd has a secret crush on Amy (Jayma Mays), a cute cosmetic clerk whose kiosk he regularly passes while patrolling the mall on his trusty, two-wheeled Segway, he can’t summon up the nerve to share his feelings with her.
The plot thickens one fateful evening while Paul is slacking off on the job, playing games in a video arcade when a gang of crooks hatch a plan to rob all the stores he’s been sworn to protect. Since Amy just happens to be among the hostages herded into a bank, this sets up a sort of obvious opportunity for him to be the hero and get the girl.
About ten times funnier than the similarly-themed Observe & Report, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a silly, slapstick adventure aimed more at kids than adults. Still, despite the PG rating, the violent scenes are apt to frighten tykes under the age of five. Otherwise, this flick doles out an hour and a half of nearly non-stop, infantile hilarity, all of which leads to a predictably-sweet resolution that you have to wait for the closing credits to see.
A babysitter’s delight!
Very Good (3 stars)
Rated PG for violence, mild epithets, and crude and suggestive humor.
Running time: 91 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, outtakes, stunt featurette and more.