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Kevin James’ comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop has its moments.  There are moments of hysteria and there are a few moments of over-the-top awkwardness that make it a comedy that you’ll either love or hate, but you’re unlikely to forget.

Paul Blart is a wannabe state trooper, but his hypo-glycemia (his need for sugar) gets in his way. Without sugar, Blart immediately crashes and falls asleep. His awkward condition and his overall lack of social skills make Blart the habitual loser until the Twin Pines Mall where he is a security guard gets overrun with thugs trying to steal credit card codes and millions of dollars. Paul is a one-man army against the thugs as he protects his turf and gets the girl. That’s the plot. All of it. Sure there are comedic moments in abundance along the way but with Paul Blart, you’re not going to get an abundance of intelligent moments. A big hole in the story that is almost unforgivable is the villains themselves. Who decides to rob a mall with a few pistols, a couple of skateboards, and some bmx bikes? It just doesn’t fit. It fits with the story, but even for someone who enjoys stupid comedies, it’s a little stupid.

Kevin James plays the lead role of Blart very well. He co-wrote the movie with the character in mind. And while he does a good job as the lead role for the most part, there are times where he doesn’t carry the movie as well as he should, particularly early on in the movie. That said, James’ physical comedy makes up for some short-sidedness and justifies this being his movie and his show.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop has its holes, that’s for sure, but it also has lots of laughs. And while it’s a great comedy it’s not the best outlet for James’ comedy style. A lot more time should have been taken with the writing process of the movie because there are more jokes and funnier jokes to be had in a movie like this that weren’t taken advantage of. It’s a great comedy; just don’t expect to laugh as much as you think you are based on the commercials.