Paul's hardships at work are only one part of his troubles. His wife left him after gaining citizenship, leaving him to raise their daughter alone while living at his mother's house. Despite his shortcomings, Paul's family loves him, setting up the second of three major plot points running throughout the film. Again, Paul Blart turns to the big book of movie clichés - Paul's awkward pursuit of a girl who is completely out of his league.
The introduction of the second plot point helps push the movie along, but at the same time, the risk doesn't completely pay off. While not enough to derail the film, it still manages to tell an enjoyable and cohesive story, the movie is forced to pull out nearly every story-telling formula it can to keep things moving forward. On top of that, aspects of each story are dropped, leading to convenient resolutions. The last and most ridiculous of the plots is a crew of extreme athletes who decide to rob the mall after Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.
The inclusion of athletes is the movie's little twist to the formula. However, the robbers could have been a group of fire-breathing mimes and it would have had the same impact on the story. There's no rhyme or reason for the criminals to be extreme athletes other than someone wanted to show off a bunch of really cool stunts. It could be argued that matching agile athletes against the overweight Blart is an attempt to show him at a disadvantage, but it doesn't work. At the very least, the inept mall cop versus a group should be enough. Then again, that would condemn the movie to an even more cliché-ridden fate, painting it into a corner.
Despite its reliance on over-used plotlines, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is still a fun movie. There are more than enough stupid laughs to be had, and even better, they are laughs that can be enjoyed with the entire family. Unlike other recent comedies, Paul Blart aims a little higher with its humor. It doesn't resort to gross-out or sexual humor to get its point across, nor does it confuse four-letter words with wit. Kids will find more to laugh about than adults, but my friends and I found ourselves laughing more than we expected. Much of this is due to Kevin James's performance. He absolutely steals every scene he's in and has created a character that is affable, but still competent and relatable.
Both James and producer Todd Garner provide commentary. The duo make a good team; James provides the jokes, while Garner offers production notes. Commentary is complemented by nearly an hour of extra, behind-the-scenes features covering everything from the crew to the casting of athletes for the criminals. The quality of each ranges from bland to good. If you decide to watch one, however, make sure to check out the one featuring the criminals. The feature isn't fantastic when it comes to information, but listening to the athletes' attempts at insight is fun. Finally, there's a set of 10 deleted scenes. Most feature extended action or explanation, but the ones featuring Paul and his family and Paul rescuing a boy ("Tell the Fake Cop 'Thank You'") are unfortunate cutting-floor victims.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop won't go down as a comedy classic, but it will make for a fun night at home with the kids.
