Short Review: A bloated wanna-be finds himself in the center of a serious situation - so, its a bit like the story of Richard Jewell sans the porn and media malpractice.

Kevin James is a one-trick pony, but that trick is pretty good. He is expert at portraying lovable, bloated losers. In this puffy Twinkie of a movie, he plays Paul Blart, an overly zealous mall cop who makes up for the vast deficiencies in his private life by overemphasizing his importance on the job. The movie is paint-by-the-numbers and the plot offers no inventiveness whatsoever. Paul is a chubby dolt with a Cliff Clavin-esque sense of occupational pride. Paul pines for the pretty girl who works at the mall and has a pen salesman as a rival. His moment to shine comes when the mall is invaded by a gang of multicultural thieves who take hostages. Paul is left inside with the hostages as the sole defender of the peace. In other words, we get Chris Farley meets Die Hard.

This isn't a bad film, but its certainly not a good one. A cheesy star-vehicle like this can only aspire to not being utter crap. With that goal, this film succeeds. James is a charismatic lead and his likability easily carries the movie until the final act. James is able to humor the audience for a while, but eventually his charm fades and we're left sitting through the resolution of a rather lame script.

For a time-waster, this isn't half bad and will amuse most audiences. As a piece of comedic art, it is lacking and should be dismissed. This is a cinematic trinket that has no value beyond its immediate use. This said, it is a good "family movie" since it promotes positive values and avoids dipping into filthy humor.