Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
also known as “Der Kaufhaus Cop”
MPA Rating:
for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language.
for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language.
Reviewed by: Patty Moliterno
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Better than Average |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Kids Teens Adults Family |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Length: | 1 hr. 31 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2009 |
| USA Release: |
January 16, 2009 (wide—3,000 theaters) DVD: May 19, 2009 |
Relevant Issues
Thieves in the Bible: Theft, Robbery
depression
Are there biblical examples of depression and how to deal with it? Answer
What should a Christian do if overwhelmed with depression? Answer
Fear
Fear, Anxiety and Worry… What does the Bible say? Answer
Self-image
I’m ugly. Why was God so unfair to me this way? Answer
| Featuring | Kevin James, Keir O'Donnell, Jayma Mays, Bobby Cannavale, Erick Avari, Peter Gerety, Shirley Knight, See all » |
| Director |
Steve Carr “Are We Done Yet?,” “Rebound,” “Dr. Dolittle 2” |
| Producer | Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison Productions, Adam Sandler, See all » |
| Distributor |
 Sony Pictures Classics, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment |
“Safety never takes a holiday”
Sequel: “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” (2015)
Paul Blart (played by Kevin James) is a security guard for a mega-mall, or as he calls himself “Officer.” He is the proverbial underdog. He passes the written test for State Trooper, but collapses (due to hypoglycemia) right before the finish line on the obstacle course. He still lives with his mom, but was married for a short time and has a daughter, Maya (Raini Rodriguez). Maya’s mom was an illegal alien and stayed just long enough to become a citizen. Paul has a lonely life and “fills the cracks of his heart” with food. The only bright spot in Paul’s lonely existence is Amy (Jayma Mays). She works at a kiosk in the mall, and Paul is clearly smitten with her.
Paul is preparing for “Black Friday”—the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year. However, the “mall elves” working in Santa’s workshop have other plans for “Black Friday.” They take over the mall, kick everyone out, except a few hostages (Amy and Maya among them), and work at getting credit card security codes. Of course, Paul is locked in the mall and, on his home turf, is able to fight off the bad guys.
Negative content
Of course, if this is a movie about mall takeovers, expect violence. Most of the violence is comedic. Paul crashes into a mini-van riding his Segway. Mall security guards don’t have guns, so Paul must improvise, and as he does brings laughs to the audience. In one scene, Paul gets in a fight with a woman shopper. As they fight, her midriff is exposed, and you see her bra. Paul uses the mini-van to crash out of the mall. Several explosions occur. The bad guys have guns and shoot at Paul, and threaten the hostages, and one mentions “a bullet in the head.” Paul falls off the roof of a car.
Although the language is mild, there are several uses of “ass” and “hell.” A person says “eat me.” Also, “God” is used in vain several times. A bottle of hot sauce is labeled “Devil’s Crotch Hot Sauce.”
An Indian teen has his bedroom decorated with religious images. He calls his girlfriend an “angelic goddess.” The ringtone on a phone plays “My bubblegum” with suggestive lyrics. Amy sells hair pieces and extensions, and Paul asks her “Do you do men?… I mean men’s hair.”
In a bar scene, Paul has a nacho chip eating contest and eats a hot pepper. He then chugs what he believes to be lemonade (which turns out to be margaritas). Paul gets drunk and acts crazy. He makes suggestive comments to Amy (which is out of character for him). He crashes through the bar window. Later, we see a tattoo on his back, close to his buttocks. He comments, “I don’t drink.” Later we see an even larger tattoo.
Paul loves his mother and daughter. He works hard to provide for them. He takes his job very seriously. These are great qualities. He ignores when others make fun of him. He takes his own personal oath to defend the mall. He doesn’t smoke, drink (except of course, accidentally), wouldn’t fight with a women, even to defend himself, and is a gentleman.
Paul knows he can’t leave the mall with Amy hostage, but when he finds out they have his daughter, too, he has double the reason to fight. He continues on, when the race is difficult. Hebrews 11:1b-2 says “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Paul Blart runs the race with endurance, never giving up. Even when he makes mistakes or seems to fail, he picks himself back up and continues on. This is a movie that could have made Paul into a bumbling idiot, but took the high road. It sent a message that nice guys can finish first, and that even the unlikeliest person can be a hero.
I would recommend seeing this movie for about age 6-8 and up. The intent of this movie is to entertain, and it does that. It manages to send a wonderful message, too—even the nerds and fat kids have worth and can be heroes.
Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Mild / Sex/Nudity: Minor
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
Positive
Positive—This film was touching, exciting, and FUNNY! I found myself, along with everyone else in the theater, cheering on Paul Bart, the most unlikely hero. Way to go Kevin James!! I went with a group of older kids; we talked and laughed all the way home. Paul Bart had very admirable qualities: not hitting girls, taking pride in his job, responsibility to family, doesn’t drink (intentionally), outgoing to others, resourceful, and handsome in black!
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Connie, age 39 (USA)
Positive—This was a very good, clean movie. I took my girlfriend to see it, as it was the only clean movie playing besides “Bedtime Stories” (great movie), which I had already seen. It sends out a great message, and it being rated PG-13 really confused me. This should have been rated PG. The violence was nothing. You can turn on FOX or even Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon and see much worse. The “offensive” violence that people “cringe” at is simply that these thieves have kept trying to attack Paul Blart, who always escapes by accident. They shoot their guns, but always miss. Definitely a great movie to take anyone to, including your kids.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Chris Johnston, age 21 (USA)
Positive—This movie was in fact funny. It’s amazing to see how someone who has few personal problems and have been treated badly can save the say. I like to see movies like this; it shows that whatever your abilities are, when you put your mind into it, and more when you have God on your side, it will work out for good. There was very little violence. We enjoyed it.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
David, age 34 (Canada)
Positive—We took our three children (2, 5, 8) to see this movie last night, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. It was nice and refreshing to see a movie that can be funny without the aid of bathroom humor or drug use. Paul does drink, but it is clearly cast in a negative life, when he is clearly out of his mind, and his friends/co-workers do not approve of his behavior. He apologizes later for his behavior. I recommend this movie to anyone. It has a good moral backing to it. It’s also nice to see law enforcement praised and bad guys punished. Loved the music throughout the film, as well.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Sarah M, age 28 (USA)
Positive—I’ve seen this film twice and really enjoyed it. It is funny without being perverse, like a lot of comedy films. Paul Blart (Kevin James) is a great underdog character. He’s dedicated and kind, though a little insecure. A lot of the humor in the beginning of this film revolves around Paul getting himself into situations that create the underdog image (i.e., the fight with an angry shopper in Victoria’s Secret, and accidentally getting drunk at a party where he mistook an alcoholic beverage for lemonade). Yet after each of these circumstances leaves people laughing at and ridiculing him, Paul handles the situation humbly and graciously.
The violence in this movie is basically slapstick fighting. This is a comic “cops and robbers” movie, so one would expect some fighting. However, no major wounds are inflicted, even when Paul gets hit in the face with a skate board or falls through the skylight.
The overall point of the film is that it doesn’t take some super star to do the right thing. Paul Blart is an overweight guy who had a habit of making an idiot of himself. But he made a commitment to protect people and he stuck to that, no matter what. We find the same thing in our Christian experience. Sometimes God uses the person that the world would write off and does extraordinary things through them, because they stayed committed and did the right thing.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
The violence in this movie is basically slapstick fighting. This is a comic “cops and robbers” movie, so one would expect some fighting. However, no major wounds are inflicted, even when Paul gets hit in the face with a skate board or falls through the skylight.
The overall point of the film is that it doesn’t take some super star to do the right thing. Paul Blart is an overweight guy who had a habit of making an idiot of himself. But he made a commitment to protect people and he stuck to that, no matter what. We find the same thing in our Christian experience. Sometimes God uses the person that the world would write off and does extraordinary things through them, because they stayed committed and did the right thing.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Jonathan Glass, age 23 (USA)
Positive—I went an saw this movie with friends from my Bible School, we all enjoyed it thoroughly. There was minimal swearing (couple “ass,” couple name calling).
This movie was incredibly funny, not totally crude, either. Blart has a great moral ideal also, “never hit a girl.” I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any age. In response to the part where supposedly it is inappropriate (wrestling with woman who’s shirt goes up), it’s not sexual at all, just really funny and kind of wants you do make yourself not look, really funny.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 3½
This movie was incredibly funny, not totally crude, either. Blart has a great moral ideal also, “never hit a girl.” I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any age. In response to the part where supposedly it is inappropriate (wrestling with woman who’s shirt goes up), it’s not sexual at all, just really funny and kind of wants you do make yourself not look, really funny.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Corey, age 18 (USA)
Positive—I took my 10 year old to see this film, and we both laughed ourselves silly! It was hilarious. Yes, there is the scene in the bar where he accidentally drinks the pitcher of margarita, thinking its lemonade, and becomes very drunk and does some very embarrassing things, but I used that as a teaching moment with my 10 year old.
As for the violence and language, it’s about what you’ll see and hear on network TV, especially the crime dramas. I think the positives of the movie far outweigh the negative.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
As for the violence and language, it’s about what you’ll see and hear on network TV, especially the crime dramas. I think the positives of the movie far outweigh the negative.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Martha, age 54 (USA)
Positive—Clean and Surprisingly funny. Went to see it with my brother who’s 30, and we had a blast. We initially thought that it would have a lot of sex innuendo but, saw it and is cleaner than most Disney animated movies. It’s a little quirky at times, but the comedy overrides that. Go see it it’s fun!
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Luke, age 19 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—I took my two daughters, ages 9½ and 11, and their friend, age 11, to see this movie today. The girls were very excited about seeing this movie. I just say, we all felt like this movie had a lot of potential, but we were all left disappointed. Most of the funny parts we have all seen in the movie trailers. While I expected some mild violence, my kids even commented that there way was too much violence in the movie. There was a hostage situation and a couple of occasions were the kidnappers threatened Paul’s life and his daughter’s life, saying they would “waste him” or “kill her first.” Those lines made me cringe. Totally inappropriate for a family movie and completely unnecessary. With that being said, the movie wasn’t a total waste of time.
The Paul Blart character is a very likeable loser who just can’t seem to get a break in life. He is a police academy reject who settles for work as a mall security guard. I love the relationship with his daughter. The running gag over the hypoglycemia was funny, but I think it went over the kid’s heads—they didn’t think it was that funny or didn’t get it.
I did like the positive message of the movie, which was to believe in yourself and never give up. I pointed out to the kids that we should all try our hardest in life, no matter the circumstances. And we should not base our opinion of ourselves on the opinions of others, but rather strive to live our lives according to God’s Word, because His Grace is enough to sustain us. I think there are more family-friendly choices for movie goers currently playing. This movie would not be one I would recommend to other Christian families or others with young children.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
The Paul Blart character is a very likeable loser who just can’t seem to get a break in life. He is a police academy reject who settles for work as a mall security guard. I love the relationship with his daughter. The running gag over the hypoglycemia was funny, but I think it went over the kid’s heads—they didn’t think it was that funny or didn’t get it.
I did like the positive message of the movie, which was to believe in yourself and never give up. I pointed out to the kids that we should all try our hardest in life, no matter the circumstances. And we should not base our opinion of ourselves on the opinions of others, but rather strive to live our lives according to God’s Word, because His Grace is enough to sustain us. I think there are more family-friendly choices for movie goers currently playing. This movie would not be one I would recommend to other Christian families or others with young children.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Leslie, age 45 (USA)
Negative
Negative—I am a HUGE Kevin James fan, but I took my 11 year old to see this, and I was not happy. I think it is odd that so many people have “positive” comments about this film. There were so many things in this movie that I thought were offensive. Paul gets drunk, there is plenty of swearing, and a woman with her shirt half torn off. I think sometimes we take these things too lightly. Those things were not needed in the film, and by spending our money on a movie like this, we are telling Hollywood that “a little” swearing and offensive behavior is ok. Not a movie for children, to say the least.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Sarah S, age 28 (USA)
Negative—First of all, even though I appreciated the low amount of offensive material in this movie, I was still extremely upset that they felt the need to include the fight in Victoria’s Secret where a woman’s shirt is basically taken off.
As well as that, the movie was groan inducing, the actual plot was nothing like the paranoid mall cop who is convinced that people are trying to take over the mall shown in commercials, which I felt to be misleading The bad guys? They used skateboards and bikes to traverse the mall while chasing Blart in the most ridiculous of manners. Although funny at times, it quickly grew to be just another thing to occupy screen time. I did find several moments of the film to be funny, but not redemptive—of [what] could have been an excellent but otherwise clean movie.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 1½
As well as that, the movie was groan inducing, the actual plot was nothing like the paranoid mall cop who is convinced that people are trying to take over the mall shown in commercials, which I felt to be misleading The bad guys? They used skateboards and bikes to traverse the mall while chasing Blart in the most ridiculous of manners. Although funny at times, it quickly grew to be just another thing to occupy screen time. I did find several moments of the film to be funny, but not redemptive—of [what] could have been an excellent but otherwise clean movie.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 1½
Tim, age 18 (USA)
Negative—My husband and I took our three daughters ages 12, 8 and 7 to see this movie. We liked the character of Paul Blart and there were some funny, cute parts of the movie, but there also were very disturbing things in it for little kids to see. Paul getting drunk in a bar and acting completely outrageous took some explaining to our daughters. Also, the fact that Paul’s wife had abandoned her husband and daughter because she only married him for citizenship was not even discussed in the review. That is a really negative feature of the film that did not need to be there at all! With the cursing and shooting, pointing the gun at hostages and other violent behavior aimed at KILLING PAUL—I did not find this film appropriate for my girls at all. I do think we as Americans are getting so use to offensive material that we are slowly lowering our standards. Maybe a media fast is in order to bring back the shock factor to us all!!
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Annette, age 40 (USA)
Negative—It would be great if these “family-friendly” comedies were actually funny. This, unfortunately, is just another all-too-frequent example of a movie where if you’ve seen the preview, you’ve basically seen all the gags.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Chris, age 45 (USA)
Negative—I thought this was going to be a film my kids could see. I viewed the movie myself. I was extremely saded by the vulgar acts that were portrayed in this film. There was a scene where he dances sexually and another scene where he gets drunk. …Watch out christians be on your guard against this sinful world. Live for christ!!!
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Pamela, age 36 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—I went to this movie with a friend and couldn’t stop talking about it when I got home; it is a good movie that brings a lot of laughs. I was surprised that a lot of the funny parts were not shown in the trailer. The violence is very slapstick, but it is all throughout the movie, and there is not a lot of swearing. Another good part of the movie is that Paul Blart’s daughter is supportive of him, even though he is a loser. Along the lines of acting and moviemaking, it was pretty good, though I thought the main bad guy was not the best actor. I would recommend this movie to anyone
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Aaron Schmidt, age 12 (Canada)
Positive—This movie wasn’t quite as good as I thought it would be, but still very entertaining and funny. The action was very exciting, and the main characters were very likable. The part when Paul got drunk was kinda weird, and why the moviemakers made the audience endure a long hard look at a woman’s midriff, I’ll never know. So I wouldn’t take younger kids, but anyone 12 and up would probably enjoy it. You just might want to get up and go to the bathroom when Paul starts talking to the portly lady.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Katie, age 16 (USA)
Negative—I went to go and see this movie with my 11 year old cousin. We both thought it was going to be an extremely funny movie! But, it turned out to be really boring and really immature. We both wanted to leave the movie theater immediately! For parents who have younger kids, yes go and see it. Otherwise, don’t see this movie, it’s very immature and stupid (my opinion). Please don’t waste your money on this. Overall, though it a clean movie for younger audiences.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Kaitlin, age 13 (USA)
Neutral—This was a good movie, but I have seen much better. Paul’s girlfriend Amy was way too ditsy, and I thought she didn’t serve an important role. Also, I didn’t like it that the S.W.A.T. team leader was a bad guy in the end. I think it would be better if he and Paul teamed up to defeat Vic and ended up as friends. But the thing I didn’t like most was everyone’s tattoos. The bar scene was way too long. I thought the Bad Guys should be more klutzy. The best part was the humor, but if you haven’t already, don’t view the trailer, because it spoils most of the gags. The timing was perfect, and everyone fit their parts very well. There is lots of explosions and crashing through plate glass windows, and I wouldn’t take any children younger than 8 to this.
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Eric, age 11 (USA)
Positive—I went to see Paul Blart with my mom at about 5:00. We missed the very first part, but I don’t think we missed much. What I saw was pretty good. I thought it was really funny!!:-) But it wasn’t quite as funny as I thought it would be. Sure there was a little comical violence, but probably not for really young kids. (it may be okay if you preview it)
Paul Blart was great! He was a really likable guy. Being clumsy added a lot. I liked the way the plot twisted around, like when *spoiler* the rookie cop and the head of the S.W.A.T. team turned out to be “badies.” I also liked the scene where he hides in the hockey suit! *end of spoiler* I wasn’t sure whether to rate this a positive or a neutral, the downside was it wasn’t quite as hilarious as I thought, but overall, it was good. I would recommend it, but not for little kids.
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Paul Blart was great! He was a really likable guy. Being clumsy added a lot. I liked the way the plot twisted around, like when *spoiler* the rookie cop and the head of the S.W.A.T. team turned out to be “badies.” I also liked the scene where he hides in the hockey suit! *end of spoiler* I wasn’t sure whether to rate this a positive or a neutral, the downside was it wasn’t quite as hilarious as I thought, but overall, it was good. I would recommend it, but not for little kids.
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Sarah D, age 13 (USA)
Negative—I went to see this move with my friends, thinking a nice, clean family movie. No. I found this movie corny, cheesy, and offensive. That acting wasn’t that good. The movie wasn’t very entertaining. A few funny moments, few. It had a lot of offensive things: a scene in Victoria’s secret, a bar scene, where Paul Blart gets drunk, he gets a tattoo, crude humor, long kissing scene, etc. I don’t usually write these, but I was too shocked by it.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Elise, age 13 (USA)
Positive—This movie was great! Only a little offensive content!!! I will definitely be seeing this movie again. I saw it with my mom and she loved it to! I’d recommend this movie for 7/8 and up! Parents will love it too!!!…
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Kathryn, age 11 (USA)
Negative—I agree that a lot of people reading this comment will disagree with me. What is wrong with America? We as Christians have lowered our standards. This is a terrible movie for 2 reasons. Allow me to explain:
1. There was a bar scene. I hated it. He actually gets drunk, and other things happen that I don’t think I’d like to mention.
2. There is way too much cursing. One right after the other. That turns me off. I was in shock as I was watching this. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mouth was open in shock. I saw “The Dark Knight” in theaters, and that had a lot of cursing, too. If you think “The Dark Knight” is bad, you should see this [or better yet, don’t!]. There is just way too much cursing in it.
Why can’t there be a clean film nowadays? It seems like no matter what rating, the movie will have some sort of sexual content, nudity, cursing… shall I go on? Is this what we’re bringing up the young generation with? I grew up in a Christian home, VERY limited on what I watch, and still am. And I’m proud of that. I’ve heard people say it was a good movie. But when you’re constantly watching movies that have all this junk in it, you’ll get prone to it. So please, do yourself [and me!] a favor: Don’t support this movie.
Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
1. There was a bar scene. I hated it. He actually gets drunk, and other things happen that I don’t think I’d like to mention.
2. There is way too much cursing. One right after the other. That turns me off. I was in shock as I was watching this. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mouth was open in shock. I saw “The Dark Knight” in theaters, and that had a lot of cursing, too. If you think “The Dark Knight” is bad, you should see this [or better yet, don’t!]. There is just way too much cursing in it.
Why can’t there be a clean film nowadays? It seems like no matter what rating, the movie will have some sort of sexual content, nudity, cursing… shall I go on? Is this what we’re bringing up the young generation with? I grew up in a Christian home, VERY limited on what I watch, and still am. And I’m proud of that. I’ve heard people say it was a good movie. But when you’re constantly watching movies that have all this junk in it, you’ll get prone to it. So please, do yourself [and me!] a favor: Don’t support this movie.
Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
Elizabeth, age 16 (USA)
Positive—Me, my dad and my 13 year old brother went to see this, and it was so hilarious! Most of the crude humor is accidental (as in the storyline), and the language really doesn’t go over the top. Great wholesome character (Paul Blart and his family), and a keeper!
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Caleb, age 14 (USA)
Positive—Mall Cop is a great movie given today’s view of movies. Paul Blart is a mall cop who dreams of eventually being a police officer. After failing the police test because of his weight, he returns home to a loving supportive family. Even though he wants to be a cop, he takes his job as a mall security guard very seriously. When criminals take control of the mall, Paul stays inside to save the hostages and the woman he loves. Along the way he takes out all of the criminals. This movie does have violence in it, but none to the extreme and most of it is humorous. Paul Blart is a great movie that teaches about love and respect.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Ben, age 12 (USA)
Positive—This movie was amazing. People say this isn’t a family-oriented movie. That isn’t true; the only thing that was wrong with this movie was the part where he got drunk, but the rest of the movie was just plain funny. I recommend that all families get this movie and watch it
Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Joe, age 14 (USA)
Positive—I don’t know what some of you guys are talking about, this movie was extremely funny and it was rated pg for a reason, some of that stuff is going to be in there which was necessary to make the movie funny. sure there was some swearing, but the movie was definitely kept to a pg rating. this was one of the funniest movies I have seen and I would recommend it to anyone 10 and up. the farthest to sexual this movie has gotten was a kiss, making some of these comments completely ridiculous and way out of wack. this was as clean as a comedy can get and is a movie for just about anyone of any age with a sense of humor.
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Stephen Rufo, age 14 (USA)
Neutral—“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was an okay movie. It was sort of entertaining, but I found it slightly unrealistic at some parts. I think kids 6-10 would enjoy this movie, although adults would probably think it was somewhat boring. Apart from a few cuss words, Mall Cop was a clean movie. Kids 10+ wouldn’t like this movie as much, so parents should only take younger kids to this movie.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4
Lili, age 11 (Canada)
Negative—I found the movie to be pretty boring, considering how all my friends had raved about how hilarious it was. Frankly, I thought that the humor was neither overt nor subtle, just predictable. I could usually guess what the punchline was going to be.
Fortunately, I have to praise the movie for rarely, if ever, appealing to the lowest common denominator for laughs like nearly every other comedy does. So, it succeeds there, but it doesn’t have the willpower to succeed where it wants to. It’s a movie with its heart in the right place, but with bad execution. Paul Blart is a likable character, and he is well-played by Kevin James, but I felt the rest of the movie lacked intensity and humor and was poorly paced. CONTENT There was some innuendo when Paul Blart borrows a friend’s daughter’s cell phone and ends up having a few conversations with her sex-crazed boyfriend. Some of it might make parents uncomfortable, but I imagine it’ll fly over your kids' heads.
Violence is mild and generally slapstick. For all the praise this movie is getting for being very clean, though, I was surprised at how much swearing there was. I mean, it was no Coach Carter or We Are Marshall, but there were still more instances than I expected. I’ll let parents make the decision on that one. But ultimately, I don’t really think it’s that worth seeing anyway.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 2
Fortunately, I have to praise the movie for rarely, if ever, appealing to the lowest common denominator for laughs like nearly every other comedy does. So, it succeeds there, but it doesn’t have the willpower to succeed where it wants to. It’s a movie with its heart in the right place, but with bad execution. Paul Blart is a likable character, and he is well-played by Kevin James, but I felt the rest of the movie lacked intensity and humor and was poorly paced. CONTENT There was some innuendo when Paul Blart borrows a friend’s daughter’s cell phone and ends up having a few conversations with her sex-crazed boyfriend. Some of it might make parents uncomfortable, but I imagine it’ll fly over your kids' heads.
Violence is mild and generally slapstick. For all the praise this movie is getting for being very clean, though, I was surprised at how much swearing there was. I mean, it was no Coach Carter or We Are Marshall, but there were still more instances than I expected. I’ll let parents make the decision on that one. But ultimately, I don’t really think it’s that worth seeing anyway.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 2
Matthew Triponey, age 17 (USA)
Positive—…I liked this film; it was very funny. … I recomend it for 8 and up. …
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Joseph, age 11 (USA)
Positive—“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is a brillantly funny movie. It is probably for ages 10 and up. There was not a lot of objectionable content in it, but there where a few things. When Paul borrows his friend’s daughter’s cell phone the ringtone is questionable to younger kids, but hilarous to 10 and up. The language and violence is mild. Much of the violence is comic. The movie starts off slow, but ends in a funny tone. Rent Mall Cop today, you will not be dissappointed.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Michael Waters, age 14 (USA)
Neutral—This is an okay film; I enjoyed it.
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Joseph, age 12 (USA)
Comments from non-viewers
…How can you recommend a movie with even slight sexual innuendo to children over 6-8 years of age? The Bible tells us we are to be different from the world. Not just a little different. If something is wrong, it is all wrong—even if only done “mildly.” It’s time that Christians start standing up for truth. If all Christians would boycott movies that were even a little offensive, then Hollywood would be obligated to start coming out with truly clean movies. I read the review to see if it was okay for my kids to go and it is not. Would you take Jesus to this movie with you? I don’t think so. Therefore, you shouldn’t go. Period.
Florence Mellado, age 45 (USA)
I have not seen this movie. I wanted to, but am really annoyed about the scene where the woman’s shirt gets pulled up. I mean really, they just have to throw sex and nudity into everything, don’t they? I am trying to decide if I want to see this movie with my husband. Were any women who saw this movie offended by this scene?
Bonnie, age 26 (USA)
In response to the other non-viewer comments, I would like to point out that the Bible also says we should live in the world world, yet not be of the world. Also, the 8th commandment tells us not to lie. Presenting a fictional world with absolutely no sex, violence, language, etc. is a lie.
It is true that quite a few Hollywood films add “offensive content” merely to attract a larger audience. However, it doesn’t automatically make the other films—the ones that include such content for the purpose of furthering the story—bad films.
Sex is a part of life. Yes, the Bible tells us to keep sex within marriage. But are we supposed to pretend that sexual desire doesn’t exist? Are we supposed to pretend that anyone who isn’t Christian doesn’t exist? How can we change other people’s lives if we know nothing about them?
And for that matter, why is it that sex is automatically the most offensive thing in a film? From what I hear, there’s fat jokes in the film. Why do you ignore something like that? Or what about lying? Every single film ever made has at least one character telling at least one lie (I challenge you to find a film that doesn’t do this!). Lying is a sin. And as C.S. Lewis said in “Mere Christianity,” the sins of lust are far less harmful than the sins of greed and hate (after all, in the right context sex can be a gift from God; the same can never be said about greed and hate). So why is it that our G-rated films can broach those far more harmful topics when a film that talks about sex gets a PG-13? In fact, to talk realistically and honestly and beneficially about sex--in a way that would benefit young people—a movie often has to get an R.
Shielding kids is the wrong way to go. Trust me; I grew up in a Christian home, and it didn’t work. It only hindered my sexuality in relation to my religion. And watching movies like “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Lust, Caution”—the kind of films my parents were offended by and naturally assumed I couldn’t handle—has only strengthened my resolve to honor sex in a marital setting. What parents need to do is use the moments of sexuality found in a film to broach a topic that is woefully treated in Christian circles. The same goes for all thematic elements.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 2½
It is true that quite a few Hollywood films add “offensive content” merely to attract a larger audience. However, it doesn’t automatically make the other films—the ones that include such content for the purpose of furthering the story—bad films.
Sex is a part of life. Yes, the Bible tells us to keep sex within marriage. But are we supposed to pretend that sexual desire doesn’t exist? Are we supposed to pretend that anyone who isn’t Christian doesn’t exist? How can we change other people’s lives if we know nothing about them?
And for that matter, why is it that sex is automatically the most offensive thing in a film? From what I hear, there’s fat jokes in the film. Why do you ignore something like that? Or what about lying? Every single film ever made has at least one character telling at least one lie (I challenge you to find a film that doesn’t do this!). Lying is a sin. And as C.S. Lewis said in “Mere Christianity,” the sins of lust are far less harmful than the sins of greed and hate (after all, in the right context sex can be a gift from God; the same can never be said about greed and hate). So why is it that our G-rated films can broach those far more harmful topics when a film that talks about sex gets a PG-13? In fact, to talk realistically and honestly and beneficially about sex--in a way that would benefit young people—a movie often has to get an R.
Shielding kids is the wrong way to go. Trust me; I grew up in a Christian home, and it didn’t work. It only hindered my sexuality in relation to my religion. And watching movies like “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Lust, Caution”—the kind of films my parents were offended by and naturally assumed I couldn’t handle—has only strengthened my resolve to honor sex in a marital setting. What parents need to do is use the moments of sexuality found in a film to broach a topic that is woefully treated in Christian circles. The same goes for all thematic elements.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 2½
JM, age 18 (USA)
Negative—In response to JM, 18 years old; I used to think the way you do, UNTIL I had a child. I too was sheltered from many of these things as a child and have made my own mistakes as a Christian. I had my daughter when I was 18, since then I have re-dedicated my life to Christ.
That said, these are NOT things that you un-shelter your children from. I would ask the question, did you parents talk to you about sex as a child? Because, THAT is where Christian guidance comes into play… NOT from being allowed to watch it (sex etc.) on TV or in movies. The change that I have made as a parent with my daughter—that my parents did not do for me—is simply talking to her about things.
My daughter at 9 years old knows enough about sex to know what it is, knows enough about what I have gone through and what she goes through (not having a dad in her life) to understand why it is so important to wait for marriage and why God tells us this. She knows the verses in the Bible that talk about sex in marriage and how it relates to her at HER level, because, I, as her Mom, have talked to her about it and explained it in a way that is understandable for a 9 year old.
Seeing this in a movie only highlights that everyone does it, so I should, too, without giving the background as to how hurtful emotionally and physically it can be to your… especially as a female. This is where you learn right from wrong.
I hope you do not take offense to this, but know that when you have a child; your whole view on this will change. You want to shelter them for as long as you can from the scary world out there, and there is nothing wrong with that. They have plenty of time to learn about it when they are adults.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 1
Kristin, age 27 (USA)
Well, it uses God’s name in vain. That clears it up that perhaps we should not see this movie. There are other things I have read as well. I heard a story from a pastor and though long it works for this and all other things we have to deal with. Two children wanted to go see a move that was rated PG-13. They asked there dad if they could go. The dad paused and said I don’t know, I’ve heard there is a lot of violence. The kids said well its not really that bad its only a small part of it mostly its a good movie dad. Thinking it over the dad ended in a no verdict. The kids were bummed to say the least. Later that evening the dad yelled for the kids Come on in the kitchen I’ve made some brownies. They ran into the kitchen ready to chow down. The dad said, “Now, wait before you eat them I have something to tell you about them. I put just a little bit of poop in them.” The kids were like are you serious? The dad responded Don’t worry about it, it was only a little bit. Get the point? So I will have to say no to it. I’d like to say I won’t see it, but I know my kids want to see it, and my wife after going to the video store someday will end up with it when the boys say “let’s get this mom.” And from another comment about shielding our kids. I say we shield them from as much as we can because they will be exposed to plenty when we are not there. God Bless you all.
Ray, age 40 (USA)
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5