Paul Blart (Kevin James) always wanted to be a New York State trooper but somehow, the combination of tremendous size, lack of intellect and agility, and insecurity always failed him in his hour of need at the test. So, instead of a life of fulfillment protecting others with dignity and honor, Blart finds himself as a much maligned security officer at a mall instead. When the mall is taken over on Black Friday (the biggest shopping day of the whole year, the day after Thanksgiving) in an attempt to steal millions in credit card receipts, Blart is the only force for good on the inside.
Of course, this is the family comedy that raked in millions in the theater, surprising everyone with its success. More than likely, the bigheartedness of James and the success he found on the small screen with King of Queens made him a star that the less-svelte could relate to; but after I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry never made it out of park, it seems that Paul Blart became the unlikeliest of heroes. Adding to the motley crew of Blart’s backups and nemeses are some more experienced actors, playing parts like Commander James Kent (Bobby Cannavale), Chief Brooks (Peter Gerety) and a stable of mall-related buddies including Adhir Kaylan. Still, it’s James’ Blart who is the absolute focus of every scene, and the audience’s attention.
Whether it’s beating a would-be thief with a tanning salon bed or trying to break into Hallmark to find the love of his life a birthday card, Blart’s larger-than-life persona seems the likeliest to follow up the comic action of Arnold’s battle through the mall in Kindergarten Cop. But who am I kidding here? James is no Schwarzenegger. James might show bravery in the moment when he finally needs it, but his last name is Blart, he’s hypoglycemic, and he’s battling a series of stereotypical henchmen who are named after Santa’s reindeer!
Still, there’s something undeniably likable about the Blart who results from the terror of Black Friday. He’s undeniably unprepared, ill-equipped, socially unacceptable, and lovably short on sugar. He lives with his mother, he struggles to maintain a healthy weight, he’s ridiculed by nearly everyone, and in his moment of weakness, having finally found a woman that just might love deeply, he gets stark raving drunk.
Blart is family-friendly but it’s not the sugar-coated, everyone-has-a-great-story that you love throughout. Instead, this is like the father-figure that Tim Allen plays in Joe Somebody: he can’t get it right, he has too many character flaws to count, and yet, when push comes to shrug, he becomes who he wants to be all along. Blart proves that it doesn’t matter what you call yourself or how others see you; but instead, the soul on the inside of the uniform is the one that matters.
And that becomes my jumping-off point for the moment of faith and truth in Paul Blart. Blart finds himself believing in himself when he has to, unequipped and unprepared, but ready when it is his time. Like us, Blart finds himself over his head but somehow receives the inspiration he needs when he needs it and performs “supernatural” acts of courage and strength when it’s necessary. Unlike his Lonely Loser profile, Blart finds that, at his core, who he is really is someone who is loved, who is brave, and who has the capability to save the world, his world, when no one else can. Is that Holy Spirit inspiration for Black Friday? Maybe not, but it certainly is highly entertaining fun appropriate for the whole family, with extra doses of sugar and the secret ingredient, a super-sized heart.
Will you follow the nearly two hundred million dollars spent on this film to date? Will you learn from everything Blart isn’t or who he wants to be? When all else fails, just remember, it’s not the size of the man or the uniform that counts; it’s his capacity for love and the strength of his heart.
