Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Adam Sandler's Happy Madison stable may not house too many thoroughbreds, but it definitely knows how to breed winners, with "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" the latest to effortlessly canter past $100 million in the States. It also marks the graduation of Kevin James, from the small-screen travails of "The King of Queens", to full-blown big-screen (and big being the operative word) leading man. However, whether audiences on this side of the pond will lap up what is effectively "Home Alone" on segways, remains to be seen.

Stretching an ironically slight premise to epic proportions, James plays the titular Blart, a sadsack security guard with a Serpico complex, who would chase the hoodies out of Bluewater in a murmuring heartbeat. The put-upon jobsworth has a daughter to worry about, a rather sweet crush on Jayma May's kiosk owner Amy and fills the cracks in his heart with peanut butter. But when a gang of stunt-crazed criminals take over the mall, Blart is the last line of defence and finally has his shot to be the hero.

Let's be honest and admit that "Mall Cop" is not a great film. Hell, it's not even a good one. Yet, James is such a gifted physical comedian and has such endearing screen presence, that it's impossible not to laugh as he heroically throws himself through windows and into doors Buster Keaton style, all in the name of unpretentious fun. The film may add up to little more than a series of skits, but it has zero ideas above its station and the less cynical among us will probably walk away with ribs sufficiently tickled.

In an age where most comedies are attempting to limbo under the bar of bad taste set by the latest low-brow farce, there is definitely something to be said for the family-friendly approach taken by "Mall Cop". That being said, Judd Apatow and his cronies are hardly likely to lose any sleep over the tired recycling of gags on display and the pat resolution to the plot.

You can't keep a fat man down, but if ninety minutes of watching him fall over doesn't float your boat then look elsewhere.