I saw it for the first time at 8 years old and I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. It’s also because “Paul Blart” works as a movie for the whole family. What makes the original work as a Thanksgiving movie isn’t just that it takes place during the holiday. The sequel seems to misunderstand what works about its predecessor - that Paul is supposed to be the hero, not the punchline. Not only does the sequel basically repeat the same jokes and plot as the original on a larger scale, but the jokes don’t work as well because they feel more mean-spirited. The film’s heart and well-roundedness is something that the atrocious sequel - which I reluctantly saw because a showing of “Mad Max: Fury Road” was sold out - sorely lacks. Each of these desires guides Paul’s decisions throughout the film and gives the character some growth over the course of the story. Paul has dreams of becoming a police officer, and he even gets a tragic backstory: He is trying to get back into the dating game after the recent passing of his wife. The film takes the time to properly flesh out Paul as well, something you don’t often see in many broad, mainstream comedies. The movie wants Paul to succeed, and that’s what makes him such a lovable character. It always feels like the movie, and subsequently the audience, is on his side. While there are some jokes here and there about Paul’s (Kevin James, “Grown Ups”) weight or his social awkwardness, the film never feels like it’s making fun of him. What makes “Paul Blart” work is its sincerity, particularly with regard to its title character. It can even do silly humor that might be more of a fit for a sitcom like Kevin James’s “King of Queens.” It can be an exciting action-comedy with fun set pieces like “ The Blues Brothers.” It can have a bit of romance like other great action-adventure movies. It’s a simple premise that allows the film to be a lot of different things.
It’s a family-friendly version of “Die Hard,” where a member of law enforcement (sort of) must protect an entire mall from a band of thieves on Black Friday. Not because any of the singular choices it makes are particularly unique or daring, but because the combination of all these choices makes for a bizarre, ridiculous experience. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is a strange movie. A much-maligned family comedy takes place around the Thanksgiving holiday, one that I believe actually belongs in the relatively small pantheon of Thanksgiving movies: “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” So it seems there’s only one choice for Thanksgiving family movie night. And, unfortunately, since I’m with my family for our Thanksgiving movie, I don’t think watching the weird, low-budget horror film “ ThanksKilling” would be particularly appropriate. However, when you’ve watched the same film over and over again for the past five or six years, you might want to branch out and find something else.
Thanksgiving is really the best holiday for narrowing down the choice of movies because there’s only one great one: “ Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” On Valentine’s Day, I watch a romantic comedy like “When Harry Met Sally.” On Christmas, I watch “Elf” or one of many other great Christmas movies. I love holidays because holiday-specific movies can drastically cut down that annoying choosing process.
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