Mall Cop 2 Essay

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Let’s get something out of the way right now: the filmmakers created Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 to make money. It is abundantly clear while watching this movie that the creators have no story to tell, no message to convey. They simply wanted to rake in some more dough (which they have, earning over $68 million domestically). Given that starting point, it should come as no surprise that Mall Cop 2 is not a good movie. But it is a good bad movie. The predictable plot has the titular officer, played once again by Kevin James, heading to Las Vegas for a Security Officers Trade Association expo. Blart has had a rough life since the events on black Friday six years ago. His wife left him after six days of marriage. His mother died after a milk truck pancaked her. So he is looking forward to this get away. Needless to say, once he arrives in sin city, Blart must lock …show more content…

The best part of Mall Cop 2, however, most viewers (including myself) would not expect: heart. This film carries much more emotional heft than the first film. Some of it fails, such as Blart’s quarrels with his daughter, but one of the emotional through lines works wonderfully. That through line is Blart’s loneliness. Although it is stereotypical, Blart’s struggles with his solitude strike a chord with anyone in the audience who has faced loneliness. This is effective for two reasons: the story and James’ performance. The story shows someone who used to feel lonely find happiness, only to be unceremoniously thrust back into the dungeon of aloneness. Anyone who is lonely knows that this is how it works: you may have reprieves in your isolation, but these only make your eventual, inevitable returns to loneliness more painful. James’ genuine performance as Blart also aids in this emotional connection because it seems he is reaching, at least a little, into his own emotions when he conveys Blart’s

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