Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Director: Andy Fickman

Lead Actors: Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Keir O'Donnell,  Eduardo Verástegui


Producer: Mary P. Ewing


Plot Synopsis:
Paul Blart- eccentric mall cop, father, man.

This is a further examination of the lovable Blart, played brilliantly by the even more lovable and talented Kevin James of "King of Queens" fame.

Blart, and his buddies that he meets up with at the Security Officer's Trade Association convention in Vegas, seem to embody what the average person sees in security guards. They are slow, overweight and weird with a devotion to their job that is hard to grasp. As this movie goes on though, we learn that they are also passionate about service and what they do, and at the end of the day they cannot resist the urge to help someone.

This is where the beauty of the movie was for me: the hearts of these sincere security guards who would instinctively save the life of the cruelest most base individuals without even thinking about it.

This is beautifully illustrated in a realistically emotional speech in the middle of the movie as Blart speaks to his fellow security guards at the convention as the key note speaker. Much like ambulance drivers, doctors and other freakishly devoted professionals, security guards share the urge to help their common man. That's what distinguishes them, and gives them reason to get up in the morning, every morning without fail and without calling in sick to work.

Therein lies the key to any good character development in story-telling: likability. Likability, and that is why James, about sixty pounds short of having a perfect body or six pack abs, has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in comedy. He makes Blart someone I would want to be my friend and someone I would care about.

In Blart's latest adventure, after a series of terrible personal troubles and losses,he is invited to speak at a trade convention for security officers in Las Vegas. 

This invitation is a boost to Blart and he is eager to attend. So he goes to the convention, with his daughter, who has just been accepted into the University of California at Los Angeles, but is too afraid to tell Blart about this.

Blart, to the delight of viewers who have stuck with the movie this far in, reunites with some old friends in the Security Officer's Trade Association convention.

His friends are as weird in appearance and personality as he is, and together they all form a weird posse.

This section is great character development on the director's part, as I feel like I've seen all of these characters before, somewhere, whether it was a mall like the one where Blart works, or an airport, or a convention building, or even a Ralphs or CVS in Los Angeles. 

Let's face it, it takes an abnormal person, in my eyes, to go after a job as a security officer.

The plot is that some very attractive and elite criminals who have decided to steal all of the art from the Wynn Casino and Resort.

They are highly trained, athletic, and they have a plan. It's a great plan too, but either they ignored the fact that security officers from around the country would be sharing the hotel with them that weekend, or they underestimated the significance of it.

You can see this coming a mile away, but through a twist of events Paul Blart catches wind of the heist, and tries to stop it, at first alone then with the help of his fellow security officers.

What ensues is an underdog story, the ugly and not so pretty battling the beautiful. This culminates in a standoff for the ages, where Blart and his posse use non-lethal weapons to ultimately defeat world-class criminals. 

The actual fight scene is poetry-in-motion where belts and jackets and human body fat are used to gain the ultimate advantage.  

Who Would Like it and Why
Fans of the underdog, of course. Also, fans of the first "Mall Cop" movie. Also, fans of Kevin James. The man might be slightly overweight but he can move quicker and is more agile than an NBA basketball player.

This agility is in full display when he rolls over onto an athletic lady criminal and through wriggling around and digging his shoulder blades into her, he disables her!

Also, the man has dance moves! This is in display when Blart chases a criminal into a full-on production of Swan Lake. Blart ends up with swan wings on, strapped into a trapeze wire, stealing the whole show with crazy dance moves.

Let's face it - James has undeniable charisma, which fans of his hit sit com King of Queens are very aware of.

Who Might not Like it and Why
Blart has a very strong personality and it is thrown at you very early on. This is something that needs to be endured to get to the comedy gold at the end of the movie. 

Highlights/Top Scenes
There is a love interest who is a possible ten in terms of physical looks. She plays a big wig in the Wynn Hotel and Casino. Blart accuses her of having a crush on him, which she vehemently denies. 

She keeps running into him, and Blart calls her on her obvious crush each time. After one denial of hers, Blart says, "oh please, your upper lip is sweating!" She checks, and it is. This is funny writing.

Two Mike and Ikes



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