Sidewalks On The Corner

Former The King of Queens star Kevin James goes solo in his first big screen laughter, where he plays “PAUL BLART: MALL COP.” The comedy, directed by Steve Carr and written by written by James and Nick Bakay, also stars Jayma Mays and Keir O'Donnell.

Follow up:

PAUL BLART: MALL COP
Columbia Pictures

Directed by: Steve Carr
Produced by: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jack Giarraputo, Todd Garner, and Barry Bernardi
Written by: Kevin James and Nick Bakay
Cast: Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O'Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Rannazzisi, and Shirley Knight

Studio Synopsis:
In Columbia Pictures' comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," Kevin James stars as the title character, a single, suburban dad, trying to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. Though no one else takes his job seriously, Paul considers himself on the front lines of safety. When a heist shuts down the megaplex, Jersey's most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day.

Bernie McInerney as "Old Man" and Kevin James as "Paul Blart" in Columbia Pictures’ comedy PAUL BLART: MALL COP.

Richard's Take:
You knew from the TV commercials that this would be a silly and insane comedy. Well, it was, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The likable Kevin James from TV's underappreciated The King of Queens is solid (no pun intended) in the role as a want-to-be New Jersey cop who is working as a mall security officer…or, in this case, mall cop.

James plays the depressed Paul Blart convincingly. With the influential help of his mother and daughter (Shirley Knight, Raini Rodriguez), Blart reluctantly searches for love during the holidays, while he takes his daytime mall job seriously. Whereas the film starts off displaying a sad Blart, the comedy goes to a "Die Hard" or MacGyver mode as the film progressed. Blart is the only person left in the mall as thieves try to rob the multi-level, indoor shopping center. I think John McClane (Bruce Willis' character in the "Die Hard" films) would be impressed by Blart's unorthodox style.

There are some funny moments, especially James' ability to do physical stunts. For a man who most likely shops at Big and Tall, he is pretty flexible. You can think of James as a slightly larger version of the John Ritter's and Lucille Ball's type of physical comedy or slapstick (this is an honor). In one scene, he jumps over a fence pretty easily. If it was me, I would pull some muscles instantaneously and head to a nearby hospital. In another scene, he pulls over a speeding senior riding a scooter in the mall. As Blart tries to stop him, he falls over and spins on the floor like a graceful break dancer.

Some parts of the film do not work. A long scene where Blart gets drunk at a bar with his co-workers went way too long; the love story wasn't convincing with the lovely mall worker Amy (Jayma Mays, Ugly Betty), where she sees Blart as a drunken fool; and the thieves were dim-witted idiots, although they were very active with their jumps and gymnastic moves.

One of the surprises in the film was a cameo by Gary Valentine, who is Kevin James' brother in real life and played Doug Heffernan's cousin Danny in The King of Queens. In heavy makeup, Valentine plays a long-haired, hippy-type of man singing karaoke in the bar. You don't even recognize him until you see his name in the credits and brief scenes during the rolling end titles.

The music in the film is pretty good, especially Blart's love song. The film uses Survivor's "I Can't Hold Back," a song you haven't heard in a long time, but will have you singing it when you leave the theatre. Well, at least it did for me (I want to apologize in this review to Sidewalks crew member J.P. Langston, who I saw the film with, for my poor rendition of the Survivor classic).

This is Kevin James' first feature film where he is the solo lead. He made his film debut in the 2005 comedy "Hitch" with Will Smith and Eva Mendes; worked with Ray Romano in "Grilled"; and starred alongside Adam Sandler in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry." Although "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" is a good start for a leading comedy man, I hope James doesn't fall into silly comedies like this in the rest of his promising film career. I like James since his days on The King of Queens, but I hope he doesn't do this role in a string of comedies like "Deuce Bigalow."

So, if you give 90 minutes of your life to "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," expect a silly time with James. It's a good starring vehicle for the Kevin James and The King of Queens fans. The film is not a masterpiece, but somewhat good clean fun for the entire family (directed by Carr, who is known for comedy and family films, such as "Daddy Day Care" and "Dr. Dolittle 2"). I don't know if I want to pay current theatre prices for this, so you may want to wait for the DVD release or wait in a couple of years for the Comedy Central telecast.

J.P.'s Two Cents:
I have to agree with Richard, this feels like the type of movie you would find on Cable around the holidays. It's totally silly and has few laughs, wild "Die Hard" like stunts and a romantic comedy overtone. I laughed but not enough to call this a gut busting success. Don't get me wrong it's not bad for Kevin James' first shot at writing for film, it's cute and fun for the whole family. I have to admit, though, I am slightly surprised at the amount of gun shots being fired during some action scenes for a PG movie. Maybe I'm a little old fashioned. If you're not sure this movie is worth 7-10 bucks for tickets, then make Netflix your best friend and wait until it comes out on DVD to rent. Other than that if you're a Kevin James fan by all means run to see "Paul Blart." Much credit goes to K.J. for taking a chance though, I don't fault him for that at all.