Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

Synopsis:

Paul Blart (James) tries to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It’s a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa’s helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul’s daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey’s most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day.

Our Thoughts:

After seeing Hitch (2005), I thought there might actually be a future for supposed funnyman Kevin James.

Despite having actually seen his TV show “King Of Queens” a couple of times – where he is consistently unfunny – I thought he teamed well with Will Smith, and showed real promise as the awkard guy in comedies. He went on to star in I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry (2007), which put him in all sorts of awkward situations and teamed him up with another funnyman – Adam Sandler this time around – all of which seemed to be another step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, Sandler’s star seems to be dropping recently (did anyone actually see You Don’t Mess With The Zohan (2008) in theaters?), and we’re hoping it’s going to pick up again with Bedtime Stories (2008) this December.

Apparently, Sandler’s recent decline has helped destroy any sort of rise Kevin James’ career was in, as he’s now back to playing unfunny morons (aka “King Of Queens”) in Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

While this one may get a few yuks from the 5-year old audience it looks to be aiming at (c’mon, falling asleep during an obstacle course? That’s supposed to be funny? A pathetic halfhearted attempt at humor, at most), there’s a good chance no one older will laugh at all during this flop.

I would say Kevin James might still hae a shot at a career after this – since most careers survive a bad film or two – but since he’s also hooked into the film as one of it’s writers, this one is probably going to haunt him for a long time to come.

Either that, or he’s going to look back years from now and remember when he was able to star in his own movie, no matter how bad it was, because if he keeps this up, he’s destined for a Sesame Street episode and nothing more than bit parts in films.

Needless to say, we’re going to skip this one.

Oh, and playing “Living On A Prayer” during the preview? Ugh. To think I used to like that song.