Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
PAUL BLART: MALL COPMovie Reviews
Comedy about a single, suburban dad, trying to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall -- a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. Cast:Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O'Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen RannazzisiDirector:Steve CarrRelease Date:January 16, 2009DVD Release:May 19, 2009From:Columbia PicturesRating:PGLength:1 hr 31 min
Paul Blart: Mall Cop played to weak reviews. • Chris Kaltenbach wrote in the Baltimore Sun, "...things just get ridiculous.... You might chuckle occasionally as the film drones on to a close, but mostly you'll be wondering when it will all end." • And Jen Chaney wrote in the Washington Post, "...mediocre, unmemorable..." More Reviews Below...
Paul Blart: Mall Cop Positive Reviews (30 Reviews, reviews below)
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the movie morphs into a loopy heist thriller after a promising start as something entirely different: a gentle comedy of suburban underachievement."(See all of Adam Markovitz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 90 words, 01/16/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: POOR(cg) "...there are, of course, plenty of obligatory adolescent sight gags to go along with the man-child hero fantasies, all of them flatly staged and observed..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 577 words, 01/15/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: WEAK(cg) "...obnoxious and laugh-free... For a movie that's essentially a 90-minute fat joke, the film is surprisingly lean when it comes to laughs."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 403 words, 01/16/09
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Nathan Lee, New York Times: POOR "Fat people are funny. Fat people who fall over are funnier. Fat people who fall over and have humiliating working-class jobs? Stop, you're killing me!"(See all of Nathan Lee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 01/16/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...more of a numbing experience than a painful one.... James is not exactly a laugh riot, but he is, at least, likable as the hapless Blart..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 417 words, 01/16/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Everything is a sitcom until Officer Blart goes into action, in an astonishingly inventive cat-and-mouse chase past myriad product placements, all of which find uses."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 01/15/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: FAIR "...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."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 01/16/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The physical comedy isn't bad, but it's a little ragged, as is the movie's habit of busting out an '80s monster rock ballad whenever it's stuck."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 577 words, 01/16/09
Jennie Punter, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...those anticipating the cathartic laughs of a dumb comedy will be disappointed - although I must admit Segway humour is something you don't see every day."(See all of Jennie Punter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 431 words, 01/16/09
Luke Thompson, LA Weekly: WEAK "...the movie briefly sputters to life when the passive policeman-in-training actually has to fight, and becomes a badass for a second or two."(See all of Luke Thompson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 179 words, 01/15/09
Josep Parera, La Opinion: MODERATE(cg) "...da vida a una guardia de seguridad torpe que está encargado de la vigilancia de un centro comercial que no tarda en ser asediado por una banda de delincuentes."(See all of Josep Parera's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 76 words, 01/15/09
Jen Chaney, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...mediocre, unmemorable... James gamely pratfalls and stumbles through all 90 minutes, but his clumsy somersaults and silly Segway maneuvers elicit few giggles."(See all of Jen Chaney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 336 words, 01/16/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "...there are two kinds of comedy, the kind where you laugh with someone and the kind where you laugh at someone.... this film offers a third kind: one where you hardly laugh at all."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 500 words, 01/16/09
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "...it's amazing at times how little fun the makers have with the suburban mall setting, which seems as if it should be filled with comedic opportunities."(See all of Peter Hartlaub's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 598 words, 01/16/09
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...forgettable, frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way.... distinguished by the nimble humor and nimbler moves of James..."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 305 words, 01/16/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: POOR(cg) "...particularly inept... hypoglycemia, hot sauce, Bobby Cannavale as a SWAT commander, and a climax at the Rainforest Café are put to execrable comic ends."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 01/16/09
Daniel Getahun, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...a senseless Hollywood comedy... features one joke every six minutes... suffers from a formulaic, carbon paper-thin screenplay..."(See all of Daniel Getahun's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 206 words, 01/15/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...substitutes a string of pratfalls, fat jokes, karaoke songs and two-wheeled stunts for plot. Though it has a few weirdly inspired touches, it's just not particularly funny."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 360 words, 01/16/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: WEAK(cg) "...so stupid and slovenly we never develop a rooting interest.... Stale, inert and padded with fat-guy pratfalls... it's like the dregs left over from a comedy clearance sale."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 206 words, 01/16/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: WEAK(cg) "James never really transcends the thin story that this lightweight and family-friendly comedy gives us. The movie's rank sentiment is Candy-cloned."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 412 words, 01/16/09
Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun: MODERATE(cg) "...things just get ridiculous.... You might chuckle occasionally as the film drones on to a close, but mostly you'll be wondering when it will all end."(See all of Chris Kaltenbach's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 198 words, 01/16/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...surprisingly winning.... Watching James do his shtick conjures warm memories of afternoons spent with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello flicks on pre-cable TV."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 01/16/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Luke Thompson, LA Weekly: WEAK "...the movie briefly sputters to life when the passive policeman-in-training actually has to fight, and becomes a badass for a second or two."(See all of Luke Thompson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 179 words, 01/15/09
Brooke Holgerson, Boston Phoenix: POOR(cg) "James, who co-wrote the script, looks as bored as the audience... If you find the sight of a grown man rolling around the mall on a Segway hilarious, this is the movie for you."(See all of Brooke Holgerson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 168 words, 01/22/09
Nathan Lee, New York Times: POOR "Fat people are funny. Fat people who fall over are funnier. Fat people who fall over and have humiliating working-class jobs? Stop, you're killing me!"(See all of Nathan Lee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 01/16/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...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."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 01/16/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Brian Lowry, Daily Variety: POOR "...so shoddily edited that there are glaring gaps in the action, including a chase sequence that begins within the mall and suddenly, inexplicably, winds up on the roof."(See all of Brian Lowry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 671 words, 01/15/09
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...the funny business eludes James until far too late in the movie.... Things are pretty busy, sometimes frantically so, even when nothing much is happening."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 616 words, 01/16/09
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...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."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 01/16/09
Nathan Lee, New York Times: POOR "Fat people are funny. Fat people who fall over are funnier. Fat people who fall over and have humiliating working-class jobs? Stop, you're killing me!"(See all of Nathan Lee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 01/16/09
19.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop's reviews are separated by an average 19.2 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (30 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Paul Blart: Mall Cop's reviews cover 47.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 10,751 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 358 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 27.9 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop's reviews on average broke 27.9 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Paul Blart: Mall Cop's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (30 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
