Fredericton — Fancying himself a connoisseur of all things cinema, local movie reviewer John McAdam, 41, recently wrote a scathing critique of the second installment of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
“The premise was shaky at best,” penned McAdam on his popular blog that’s followed by nearly 10 people. “Kevin James is a seasoned thespian who has set the bar high, most notably in King of Queens, where he played a bumbling fat man with an inexplicably hot wife. That dynamic is tried and true — perhaps he should have kept to this patented formula?”
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, released in 2015, grossed $107 million worldwide at the box office. The comedy follows the misadventures of a Segway-riding security guard at the West Orange Pavilion Mall who receives an unexpected invitation to a mall cop convention in Las Vegas, where he ends up having to save the day.
“Although Kevin James helped write both these films, his… finesse, we’ll say, seems to have waned somewhat the second time around,” wrote McAdam. “In the inaugural Mall Cop, Paul Blart must fight off a gang of organized criminals who attempt to take over the mall where Blart works. Perhaps it’s owing to the fact that the protagonist stays on the premises, his ‘home turf’ so to speak, that lets his character shine through? You can’t remove the mall cop from his element and expect the story to resonate as forcefully with viewers, can you?
“Futhermore,” continues the review, “the cast of Mall Cop 2 just doesn’t live up to that of James’s other work. Let us recall his role in Zookeeper or Zookeeper 2, some of the classic films of our time. James stars alongside comedy legends Adam Sandler and even Cher. In Mall Cop 2, James must carry the film on his own; the weight is too much for one man, however great that man is.”
According to McAdam, the third film, which will hit theatres in April 2017, shows even less promise than the second, as it is rumoured to be set in China, and feature co-star Melissa McCarthy. “No. Just no. McCarthy should stick to what she’s good at, and that’s Ghostbusters and Gilmore Girls — she’s simply not Mall Cop calibre. And I do worry that Blart in a mega-mall overseas just won’t ring true to discerning North American viewers. Can Blart even speak Chinese? Time will tell, I suppose.”
McAdam plans to review Minions and The Angry Birds Movie within the next month. “And I might even cover Dirty Grandpa if I have time,” he said. “Stay tuned.”
Til death do us Blart