Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: January 16, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
13
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyAdam 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
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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
63
ReelViewsJames 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
63
New York PostKyle Smith
It's fine for kids, though, and it doesn't try too hard. Read full review
60
EmpireSimon 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
50
L.A. WeeklyLuke 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
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The film is completely forgettable, frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way. Read full review
50
Washington PostJen Chaney
Mediocre, unmemorable comedy. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerTravis 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
50
Los Angeles TimesGlenn 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
50
Baltimore SunChris 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
50
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
42
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
James has a sweet, appealing presence, but the dreary, joke-light script and generic direction do him no favors. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk 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
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
An almost shockingly amateurish one-note-joke comedy. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNathan 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
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Perfectly inoffensive and almost entirely unfunny, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is more of a numbing experience than a painful one. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia 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
30
Chicago ReaderAndrea 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
30
Film ThreatMichael 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
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter 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
25
TV Guide MagazinePerry Seibert
James plays it safe. And, short of unfunny, safe is the worst thing a comedian can be. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Paul Blart: Mall Cop deserves to be cited for loitering. Read full review
12
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Looks like something stubbed out in an ashtray. Read full review
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