Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +1 Content: +2

Kevin James, Raini Rodriquez. Action/comedy. Directed by Andy Fickman.

FILM SYNOPSIS: After six years of keeping our malls safe, Paul Blart has earned a well-deserved vacation. He heads to Vegas for a mall cop convention, accompanied by his teenage daughter. It’s not exactly a great vacation as about the only thing Blart is proficient at is riding that two-wheeler electronic scooter. But by accident (everything is by accident in this film) he is thrown into a high-tech Casino heist. Will he redeem himself by catching the thieves?

PREVIEW REVIEW: Now normally I wouldn’t recommend the imbibing of booze before attending a movie. There are just too many in my denomination who would raise an eyebrow at that thought. But I’m convinced that eons ago the discovery of fermentation came to man in anticipation of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. My theory is, only within an alcoholic haze can any humor possibly be found in this dreadful excuse for a movie comedy.

Perhaps dreadful is too harsh a word. After all, no one sets out to make a bad movie. But I only laughed once, and that was because I drifted off to a funny joke I remembered from the night before.

Seriously, I found myself looking at my watch at one point to see how much further I had to go. Only a half hour had expired (it seemed longer). It went on and on, becoming torturous.

In fairness to the filmmakers, a couple of kids seemed to be enjoying the movie with their prisoners…I mean, parents.

Comedies like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World or Dr. Strangelove just aren’t made anymore. Most humor of today, as I’m sure you know, is derived from crudity. It’s the I-can’t-believe-I-just-saw-that concept that causes filmgoers to laugh these days. We're taught from childhood not to say or do certain things in public. Now we have comedians doing those very offenses on a 40-foot screen. Then there’s Kevin James, who avoids obscenity (for the most part), preferring to build a comic career through the art of bumbling and obesity. He obviously wants to make films for families. And I've heard he is a Christian, so I don't want to assault a brother in the Lord, or the work he does.

Mr. James is a kind of kickback to Jerry Lewis. He’s funny, but his good-natured stooge routine becomes a bit overdone for those of us who prefer wit to slapstick. And for me, his sad-sack routine here is maudlin rather than sincere.

I like Kevin James, I’ve seen him be funny. And I found some fun moments in the silly first Paul Blart adventure. But the ticket price (I paid for this one, myself)was woefully overbalanced for the time spent with installment number 2. I maintain, if you want to laugh at this film, you’re going to need the big bottle of Burgundy. I mean the really big bottle.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Columbia