Aw, isn't there room in this world anymore for a big, affable lug?
This movie is getting a surprising amount of hate and I don't know why. There is very little in the way of violence, even less in the way of sex and even the gross-out jokes are kept way below what is usually the minimum level for comedies lately. The bad guys get around the mall with mountain bikes, skate boards and by utilizing some impressive parkour moves. Clearly this movie was meant for the PG crowd and in that it succeeds. It's a nice clean family comedy that everyone can attend and enjoy. There were lots of families in the theater when I saw this movie and they all seemed to have a pretty good time. They laughed and giggled and there was very little of the bored chatter you hear sometimes at kids/family movies.
I was thinking a little about the John Candy movie Summer Rental after I saw this. Candy played a few different roles in films before he did Summer Rental but that movie is where you see the classic John Candy affable lug character that kind of served as a...
Pretty clean humor, and better than I thought it would be
I had my reservations going in to see this one, but it was surprisingly funny and didn't have to use much gross-out, potty humor or profanity that seems to be pervading many comedies these days in attempts to humor people. Instead, there was more slapstick style humor, and while it is the classic lovable loser meets girl scenario (except at the mall) and has its predictable moments, over all it was a pretty decent comedy.
King of Queens star Kevin James plays Paul Blart, a long time mall security guard who is a bit lonely in life because of failed relationships. When he sees a beautiful woman working in the mall, he tries to figure out a way to connect with her, but his awkwardness gets in the way of his progress. Training a new mall security guard isn't what it seems to be, as this supposed high school dropout turns out to be the brains behind a massive robbery and hostage situation. It is up to Paul Blart, the only one who takes his job too seriously, to try and save the...
I laughed...does that make me a bad person?
Given the large numbers of people who referred to this silly little movie as one of the worst ever, I wonder where we draw the line between critical assessment and pure gut reaction in forming our opinions of entertainment. What separates Step Brothers, which I hated, from Mall Cop, which I enjoyed? Why did this movie work whereas Funny People, another more critically received Sandler project, disappointed me?
There is little original in the story, there are the predictable credibility issues (young attractive girl falls for shleppy overweight loser - oh, what hath Seth Rogen wrought?), and there's Sandler's penchant for schlocky 80s pop music touchstones that buddy Kevin James is borrowing, but still I found myself laughing out loud during much of this movie even when I saw the gag coming from a mile away. Either my opinion isn't worth squat or the reviewers who tore this movie to shreds need to lighten up. Or maybe neither. Maybe individual taste is just too complex to figure...
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