At the weekend I had the misfortune of having to not only miss the glorious sunshine and bustle of my local highstreet in favour of sitting in a dark room with my Dad and brother (we tend to argue if our quality family time is spent conversing), but that during my time in this dark room I was exposed to the sloppy cinematic disaster that is 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop'.
Kevin James, the guy who nearly stole the show from Will Smith in 'Hitch' is Paul Blart, and he is by far the only vaguely good thing about the film; his exaggerated action scenes and pretty amazing facial expressions carry it. Other than that, however, it is poorly scripted and revolves around the idea that fat people are funny, so lets make a movie where a fat guy has to run a lot. And that's being generous about it's level of sophistication. Now, I'm not being a movie snob, I like ridiculous films, they please my simple sense of humour; I'm openly a fan of 'Wayne's World', but this film just didn't hit the spot. I don't know if it is just that I'm getting cynical in my old age, but all I could think as I watched was that the only thought and feeling that had been put into this film was how to make some quick, easy money. The writers must have known it was never going to be a classic, neither the director, or Kevin James. This is probably my biggest problem with this film; if someone is going to add to modern culture - be it literature, film, theatre or art - their work should say something, do something for the society it is released into, they are all forms of art, and any film should be as painstakingly crafted as an artist's sculpture would be. But, for now, it is all about the money.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop - 1/5
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