Paul Blart: Mall Cop was not the movie that I went to the theatre to see.  We actually went to the theatre to see Gran Torino.  I really do not know why we changed our minds, however, at the spur of the moment my husband and I decided to see Paul Blart instead.  It looked pretty entertaining in all of the previews I had seen on TV, so I thought it would be funny.  As we watched the movie, I quickly learned that I had seen the best of the movie in the previews, and there was not much more to see.

Paul Blart is an overweight, hypoglycemic man who really wants to be in law enforcement, but just cannot get through the police training because of his medical condition.  When his sugar drops, so does he.  He is out like a light.  So, he fulfills his need to be a police officer by working as a security guard at the mall. 

Paul takes his job quite seriously….too seriously for the mall employees, store managers, and the other security guards.  However, he feels that he has taken on the responsibility to protect and serve the mall, just as if he were a real policeman. 

While patrolling the mall, Paul sees a young lady named Amy working a kiosk, and he immediately falls for her.  When he finally makes her acquaintance it is obvious that Amy finds him just a bit weird, but she is still nice to him and Paul is intrigued.

Then shortly after Paul meets Amy, a gang takes over the mall to steal credit card information that is worth millions.  Amy and some others are held hostage in the bank by the gang.  Paul, who was locked in the mall after closing because he was in a store playing video games, is the sole person left inside the mall who can capture the gang, stop the take over, and free the hostages. 

What happens next?  This is when Paul really goes into action, using the skills he learned in police training.  You will have to watch the movie to see how he measures up against the bad guys.  Does he rescue his dream girl?  Or does the gang take him down? 

In my opinion, the movie was cute but not incredible.  There were a few really funny moments, but as I said, the previews highlighted most of those.  However, Kevin James as Paul Blart was a teddy-bear lovable character.  And I did find myself hoping that he would end up being a hero.

Personally, I think there are better movies to pay to see.  I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it.  This movie would make a good rental one night for some light entertainment.  But I recommend that you save your money and wait to see it on cable or DVD.

Recommended: No

Movie Mood: None of the Above
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Plot