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88
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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66
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79
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69
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64
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69
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You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
EMAILPRINTColumbia Pictures (Sony)

Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 67 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by:
Kevin James
Nick Bakay
Directed by: Steve Carr
Release Date:
Theatrical: January 16, 2009
DVD: May 19, 2009
Running Time: minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language
Starring Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O'Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Rannazzisi, and Shirley Knight
Paul Blart is 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. (Sony Pictures)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Adam Markovitz
Has a few surprises in store. The biggest is James, an unexpectedly nimble master of the face-plant, the failed jump, and the lopsided tumble.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It's as slam-bang preposterous as any R-rated comedy you can name. It's just that Paul Blart and the film's other characters don't feel the need to use the f-word as the building block of every sentence.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Although Paul Blart is by no means great cinema, there is amusement to be uncovered as we watch Kevin James bumble his way through actions oh-so-similar to those navigated with more blood, sweat, profanity, and dead bodies than Willis. Too bad there's no "Yippekayay...."
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
It's fine for kids, though, and it doesn't try too hard.
Read Full Review >Empire Simon Braund
Hardly promising but, thanks to James' winningly gung-ho underdog and the fat-man grace he brings to a pratfall, unexpectedly watchable.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The bad guys just seem like a bunch of X-Games rejects, and Blart's ingenuity proves way more effective than it has any right to be.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter
Thanks to a tight script and brisk pacing from director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Dr. Doolittle 2), there's little fat in Mall Cop, save the a yawn-inducing parade of fat-guy jokes.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Luke Y. Thompson
Done as an all-out battle to the death, this could have been an entertaining mix of "Die Hard" and "The A-Team."
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
The film is completely forgettable, frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Travis Nichols
The only real difference between this and the handful of other Happy Madison flicks is that James (executive producer, co-writer, star) has made this Sandleresque movie family-friendly, with very little swearing, no nudity and all the edginess of a "King of Queens" rerun.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Glenn Whipp
Underneath all the cartoonish mall mayhem and silly slapstick lies a comedy that aspires to be the sort of gentle crowd-pleaser John Hughes used to make.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
James has a sweet, appealing presence, but the dreary, joke-light script and generic direction do him no favors.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Great comics from Jerry Lewis to Peter Sellers have turned pathetic into comedic. But James never seems to able to get beyond pathetic.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Perfectly inoffensive and almost entirely unfunny, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is more of a numbing experience than a painful one.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Nathan Lee
A tossed-off comedy from Adam Sandler's production company that makes one long for the comparative genius of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry."
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The last name Blart may be the funniest thing in the movie, so that's a hint as to just how bad this shopping-center saga can be.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Michael Ferraro
Director Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care") tries nothing new in the world of aesthetics. Should be no surprise considering that any film put out by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions doesn't really need to take any kind of cinematic risk.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
To call this Kevin James comedy fatuous might be misinterpreted as an attack on the star's girth--so how about inane, tepid, lazy, puerile, phony, and unfunny?
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
The action sequences are just as ridiculous as the romance parts, but at least James seems comfortable with the pratfalls and gross-out scenarios.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Perry Seibert
James plays it safe. And, short of unfunny, safe is the worst thing a comedian can be.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Paul Blart: Mall Cop deserves to be cited for loitering.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 4.9 (out of 10) based on 67 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
John H. gave it a7:
A very funny, this can appeal to both adults and kids. It has a lot of plot twists and has good acting. For those of you that liked the Die Hard film, this should appeal to you. I think if you see this film you will recieve a great laugh. I would rate this film a 7 and a half, but if only goes 0,1,2,3,4,etc. See this movie. Just like National Treasure, I say screw what the critics think. Respectfully.
Jacob H. gave it a7:
My expectations for this movie were extremely low. My friend recommended it to me, and when we rented it, I actually started crying. But I was pleasantly surprised when i watched this movie. So for anybody who likes comedy's, I recommend this to you.
Nikesh P. gave it a5:
The first half of the film is so boring and uninteresting that it is not worth watching to get to the decent second half.
Lauren gave it a1:
My stupid friends thought this was hilairous. i beg to differ, it is the most bland, crummy comedy i have ever seen. Kevin James is so unfunny, and i wished i had not seen it. It's so not funny if your acting, because all and all... it's just stupid.
Alex O gave it a0:
I don't mind a dumb comedy with occasional yuk yuk laughs, but this one had none. It appears that Kevin James and Co were trying to make a slapstick version of DieHard. Didn't work. Avoid at all costs.
Stuart B gave it an8:
A good film that has you rooting for the unlucky "hero" from the start and is very funny when the Die Hard style part of the film kicks in.
Joe z gave it a0:
The fat man from King of Queens is just not funny. He proved it in King of Queens and, lo and behold, he proved it again with this crap.
