Comedy sale at the mall

Published Thursday, January 22, 2009

The biggest crime of all here is not the bank heist that goes down at a New Jersey mall on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Rather, it’s the egregious way in which Kevin James’ innate likability goes to waste. The "King of Queens" star showed he could play an underdog with some sweetness and depth in the 2005 romantic comedy "Hitch."

This time, he plays yet another misfit, but one who’s so two-dimensional, needy and annoying, it’s difficult to root for him. The trouble is James himself created the character.

James’ Paul Blart is a portly pushover who tries hard to be the tough guy as a shopping center security guard. In an anemic take on "Die Hard," Paul gets his chance to prove himself when a bunch of skateboarding, bike-riding, X-Games refugees infiltrate the mall with plans to rob the bank, taking a few hostages in the process.

- The Associated Press

paul Blart: Mall cop

Stars: Kevin James, Keir O’Donnell, Jayma Mays

Director: Steve Carr

Rating: PG for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language.

Theaters: Forum 8, Stadium 14