Paul Blart: Mall Cop - Wikipedia

2009 film by Steve Carr
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteve Carr
Written by
  • Kevin James
  • Nick Bakay
Produced by
  • Adam Sandler
  • Jack Giarraputo
  • Kevin James
  • Todd Garner
  • Barry Bernardi
Starring
  • Kevin James
  • Jayma Mays
  • Keir O'Donnell
  • Bobby Cannavale
  • Stephen Rannazzisi
  • Shirley Knight
CinematographyRuss T. Alsobrook
Edited byJeff Freeman
Music byWaddy Wachtel
Productioncompanies
  • Columbia Pictures[1]
  • Happy Madison Productions[2]
  • Relativity Media[2]
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[1]
Release date
  • January 16, 2009 (2009-01-16)
Running time91 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$26 million[4]
Box office$186 million[5]

Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a 2009 American action comedy film directed by Steve Carr, written by Kevin James and Nick Bakay, and produced by James, Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Todd Garner, and Barry Bernardi. It stars James as the titular character Paul Blart, with Jayma Mays, Keir O'Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Rannazzisi and Shirley Knight in supporting roles. The film tells the story of Paul Blart, a single dad and a bumbling mall security guard, who finds himself in the middle of a heist and the only one in position to rescue hostages. Filming began in February 2008 with a majority of the shooting taking place at the Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts; it was produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions and in association with Relativity Media.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop was released in the United States on January 16, 2009, by Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label. The film grossed $183.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $26 million, but was not well received by critics, while James' performance was generally praised. A sequel titled Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was released in 2015.

Plot

[edit]

Paul Blart lives in West Orange, New Jersey with his young daughter Maya and his mother. Aspiring to join the New Jersey State Police, he trains at the police academy, but his hypoglycemia causes him to collapse before finishing the physical fitness test, leading Paul to take a job as a security officer at the West Orange Pavilion Mall.

Paul patrols the mall on a Segway and begins training Veck Simms, who shows little interest in the job. Meanwhile, Paul becomes acquainted with Amy Anderson, a vendor of a new kiosk. Paul meets her one evening at a restaurant with other mall employees. Things initially go well, but when Paul participates in a nacho-eating contest with his friend Leon, the jalapeño peppers prove too spicy for him, and he chugs two glasses of margarita, mistaking it for lemonade. He gets drunk and makes a wild exit by falling through a window.

Two days later on Black Friday, an organized gang of thugs disguised as Santa's Village employees begin a heist inside the mall. They take Amy and others inside a bank hostage, and Veck is revealed as the gang's leader. The crew force the majority of shoppers to exit the mall and place motion sensors at each entrance to detect any attempt to enter or exit the building.

Paul is oblivious as he plays Rock Band before walking back into the mall to discover that it is nearly empty. He calls the police and leaves the mall, but realizes that Amy is still inside when he spots her car and returns to the mall to look for her. A SWAT team arrives with commander James Kent at the helm. Kent, a former classmate and bully from Paul's childhood, takes control of the police units and orders Blart to let them handle the situation. Paul refuses and attempts a rescue. Vastly outnumbered, he takes a stand against Veck’s crew, improvising to take them down one by one. He discovers credit card codes written in invisible ink on the burglars' arms, realizing that their plans go beyond robbing the bank.

Unaware of this, Maya shows up at the mall to bring Paul some food, but Veck’s henchmen seize her and add her to the hostages. Paul manages to subdue all of Veck’s accomplices and attempts to rescue the hostages by pulling them up into the air vent. The plan fails when Leon does not fit. Veck enters the room, capturing Paul and forcing him to give up the codes recorded on his cell phone. Veck flees, taking Amy and Maya with him. As the SWAT team raids the mall, Paul borrows a display minivan with Kent, pursuing Veck to the airport, where he is attempting to escape to the Cayman Islands.

After a brief scuffle, Paul overpowers Veck and puts him in handcuffs. Kent pulls his gun on Paul, revealing that he was working with Veck. Kent demands the phone containing the codes from Paul, who instead destroys it. Before Kent can retaliate by shooting Paul, Chief Brooks of the mall security team arrives and shoots him in the arm. He and Veck are both arrested, and Amy and Maya are returned safely. For his bravery and assistance, Howard offers Paul a job with the New Jersey State Police. Paul declines, preferring to remain in mall security. Paul and Amy are eventually married in the mall, where they exchange vows on a set of black and white Segways.

Cast

[edit]
  • Kevin James as Paul Blart, a dedicated Mall Security Officer suffering from hypoglycemia
  • Jayma Mays as Amy Anderson, a weave and wig salesperson who Paul has an affection for
  • Keir O'Donnell as Veck Simms, a security trainee and ringleader in the Mall heist
  • Bobby Cannavale as Commander James Kent, a corrupt officer in New Jersey State Police SWAT team who secretly works with Veck Simms
  • Adam Ferrara as Sergeant Howard, a detective in New Jersey State Police who oversees the heist/hostage situation
  • Peter Gerety as Chief Brooks, Paul's supervisor
  • Stephen Rannazzisi as Stuart, a pen salesman making his move on Amy
  • Shirley Knight as Margaret Blart, Paul's mother and Maya's paternal grandmother
  • Jamal Mixon as Leon, a heavyset mall kiosk worker
  • Adhir Kalyan as Pahud, Parisa's boyfriend in contact with Paul via her phone
  • Erick Avari as Vijay, owner of a cellphone kiosk who loans Paul a phone after punishing his daughter, Parisa
  • Raini Rodriguez as Maya Blart, Paul's daughter
  • Mike Vallely as Rudolph
  • Mike Escamilla as Blitzen
  • Jason Ellis as Prancer
  • Jason Packham as Comet
  • Rick Thorne as Cupid
  • Victor T. Lopez as Donner
  • Natasha Hopkins as Vixen

Production

[edit]
On set at the Burlington Mall

Production began in late February 2008 in Boston.[6] Principal photography took place at the Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts, after being denied a permit from Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, New Jersey. From late February until mid-April, the mall and its stores were decorated with Christmas decorations, and there was a large prop ball-pit in the main foyer of the mall near the Sears branch, and a Santa's Village at the opposite end near the Macy's branch where the mall usually puts its own Santa's Village. Interior filming took place mostly at night. Some of the aerial stunts, such as Blart being attacked in the scenic elevator, were performed at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts,[7] as the Burlington Mall's construction did not allow for some of these stunts.

Reception

[edit]

Critical reception

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, Paul Blart: Mall Cop has an approval rating of 34% based on 116 reviews. The website's critical consensus states "Paul Blart: Mall Cop has some laughs, but its plot is flimsy and lacking in any sustained comic momentum."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100, based on review from 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.[10]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film one star out of four, panning the concept and juvenile humor.[11] Variety's Brian Lowry called it "An almost shockingly amateurish one-note-joke comedy."[12] James Berardinelli was also unimpressed by the juvenile tone, but praised the character of Paul Blart and a refreshing change from Adam Sandler's typical films calling it "a passable choice for watching at home, when viewers tend to be less demanding."[13] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three stars out of four, praising the film's "wholesome" comedy.[14] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave the film a grade C−, calling it "a shamelessly sentimental comedy with a few crude gags thrown in arbitrarily" which "turns into a stale riff on Die Hard."[15]

Box office

[edit]

The film ranked #1 at the domestic box office with $9,791,368 from 3,144 theaters for an opening day average of $3,105. During the film's entire three-day opening weekend, the film remained at the top spot, grossing a total of $31,832,636, with a per screen average of $10,125, outgrossing its $26 million budget. It grossed $39,234,238 over the entire four-day MLK weekend, for a four-day average of $12,479. The film was the second best opening of all-time for the MLK weekend, behind 2008's Cloverfield. The film stayed at number one in its second weekend, grossing another $21,623,182, dropping just 32%, and boosting the ten day income to $64,923,380. In its third weekend it dropped to second place with $13,872,751, a 36% decline from the last weekend, for an average of $4,327 from 3,206 theaters, bringing the seventeen day gross to $83,247,655. In its fourth weekend, it dropped to fifth place with $10,884,825, a drop of 22% from the last weekend, for an average of $3,435 from 3,169 theaters, and bringing the 24-day tally to $96,886,687. In its fifth weekend (President's Day weekend), it dropped to sixth place, making another $10,983,319 over the three-day span, actually increasing 1%, for an average of $3,704 from 2,965 theaters, and bringing the 31-day total to $109,787,819, having broken the $100 million mark on Friday February 13. Over the four-day President's Day weekend, it made $13,574,027 for an average of $4,578, and bringing the 32-day cume to $112,388,524.[16] The film closed on Monday, May 25, 2009, with a final domestic gross of $146,336,178, with the three-day opening weekend making up 21.75% of the total gross (26.81% for the four-day opening weekend). The film had as of 2009 made $36,625,591 internationally, bringing the total worldwide gross to $183,293,131, against a modest $26 million budget.[5]

Home media

[edit]

Paul Blart: Mall Cop was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and UMD on May 19, 2009. The DVD sold 1,817,747 copies, making US $29,411,146 for the week of May 24, 2009, having only been out for six days, and it ranked No. 1 for DVD sales that week as well.[4] For the week of May 31, 2009, it again made No. 1 on the US DVD Charts as it sold an additional 553,681 copies and making US$9,921,964 for a total of 2,834,826 units sold with earnings of US$46,676,902 as of November 1, 2009.[4] As of November 1, 2009, when combined with box office results and total DVD sales, the film has grossed a total of US$227,126,523.

Sequel

[edit] Main article: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Sony expressed interest in producing a sequel to the film in January 2009.[17] In early 2014, it was confirmed that the studio was moving forward, and shooting began in April 2014.[18][19] Andy Fickman was hired to direct the sequel, while Kevin James co-wrote the script with Nick Bakay and returned to star in the leading role.[20] The sequel was called Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and released on April 17, 2015.[21]

See also

[edit]
  • Observe and Report
  • Twin films

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Paul Blart Mall Cop (2009)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  2. ^ a b "Paul Blart Mall Cop (2009)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "PAUL BLART - MALL COP (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 2009-01-28. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
  4. ^ a b c "Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  5. ^ a b "Paul Blart Mall Cop (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  6. ^ A Mall Cop by any other name Archived 2009-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 18, 2008
  7. ^ "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' has local flavor". Wicked Local: Braintree. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Paul Blart Mall Cop". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  9. ^ "Paul Blart Mall Cop (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2009-01-19. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  10. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  11. ^ Peter Travers (January 29, 2009). "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  12. ^ Lowry, Brian (January 14, 2009). "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". Variety. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  13. ^ James Berardinelli. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". ReelViews. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  14. ^ Roger Ebert (January 14, 2009). "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  15. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2009-01-15). "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  16. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results from January 16–18, 2009". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  17. ^ "Sony Wants A Paul Blart Sequel". CinemaBlend.com. 2009-01-29. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  18. ^ "Kevin James' "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" Sequel is Happening". Worst Previews. 2014-01-08. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  19. ^ "Wynn Las Vegas to Play Leading Role as Primary Location in Sony Pictures Entertainment's "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2"". marketwatch.com. April 15, 2014. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' Sequel Finds a Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2014-01-07. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  21. ^ McNary, Dave (April 2, 2014). "Kevin James' 'Paul Blart' Sequel Set for April 17, 2015". Variety. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
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