Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is a 2015 American action comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and written by Kevin James and Nick Bakay. It is the sequel to 2009's Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and stars James in the title role, Raini Rodriguez, and Shirley Knight.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndy Fickman
Written by
Based onCharacters
by Kevin James
Nick Bakay
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDean Semler
Edited byScott Hill
Music byRupert Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Distributed byColumbia Pictures[4](through Sony Pictures Releasing[5][4])
Release date
  • April 17, 2015 (2015-04-17) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes[6]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30–40 million[7][8]
Box office$107.6 million[5]

Filming began in April 2014 at the Wynn Las Vegas casino resort. It was released the following year on April 17, 2015. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was the first film shot on the Steve Wynn property. It was also the first film to receive Nevada's film tax credit, enacted in 2013, netting the production a $4.3 million return on expenditures. The film was panned by critics and grossed $108 million worldwide at the box office.

Plot

Following the events at West Orange Pavilion Mall, Paul Blart is recovering from several misfortunes. His wife Amy divorced him six days into their marriage, and two years later, his mother was killed after being hit by a milk truck. To feel better, Paul takes pride in patrolling the mall. Four years later, as Blart says he has "officially peaked", he receives an invitation to a security officers' convention in Las Vegas and begins to believe his luck is about to change. His daughter, Maya, discovers that she was accepted into UCLA and plans to move across the country to Los Angeles, but in light of her father's invitation, she decides to withhold the information for now.

After arriving in Las Vegas, Paul and his daughter meet the general manager of Wynn Las Vegas, a pretty young woman named Divina Martinez, whom Paul is instantly attracted to. He later learns that she's dating the hotel's head of security, Eduardo Furtillo. Meanwhile, Maya falls in love with the hotel's valet, Lane. A security guard from the Mall of America attending the convention, Donna Ericone, is aware of Paul's earlier heroics in the West Orange Pavilion Mall incident and believes Paul will be the likely keynote speaker at the event. However, Paul discovers that another security guard, Nick Panero, is giving the speech.

In the midst of the convention, a criminal named Vincent Sofel and a gang of accomplices disguised as hotel employees are secretly plotting to steal priceless works of art from the hotel and replace them with replicas, then sell the real ones at auction. In the meantime, Paul has become overprotective of Maya after discovering her flirting with Lane and spies on their conversations. He is later mocked by Eduardo for his lack of professionalism in an event where hotel security was notified when Maya turns up missing. In an ensuing argument with her father, Maya becomes upset and claims she's attending UCLA despite Paul's wishes that she remain close to home at a junior college.

At the convention, Paul, Donna, and three other security guards, Saul Gundermutt, Khan Mubi, and Gino Chizetti check out the non-lethal security equipment on display. Paul finds Nick drunkenly hitting on a woman at the bar. Paul attempts to defuse the situation and Nick passes out, giving Paul a chance to be the event's speaker. Later, Paul takes a break in The Garden Of Contemplation, only to face off against a bird while a man playing piano watches. Following the speech, Paul learns about Maya and Lane's situation and rushes to help but abruptly collapses due to his hypoglycemia that has plagued him for years.

After recovering, Paul is able to take down several of Vincent's thugs and gathers intel on the group's intentions. Using non-lethal equipment from the convention, he is able to take out more of Vincent's crew. Meanwhile, Maya and Lane overhear Vincent adamantly refusing an oatmeal cookie due to a severe oatmeal allergy, leading to said cookie being thrown from a window. Working with a team – Donna, Saul, Khan, and Gino – Paul is able to clumsily dismantle Vincent's operation, with Maya severely incapacitating Vincent by rubbing oatmeal-infused concealer on his face and Paul finishing Vincent off with an extremely forceful headbutt. Afterward, Paul convinces Divina to be with Eduardo. He also accepts Maya going to UCLA, funding her tuition with the reward he obtained from Steve Wynn for stopping Vincent. After dropping off Maya at UCLA, Paul falls for a mounted police officer who reciprocates his advances, but her horse reflexively kicks him into the side of a car.

Cast

Jayma Mays was only seen in the opening because she couldn't reprise the role for the sequel.

Production

Development

In January 2009, Sony expressed an interest in making a sequel to Paul Blart: Mall Cop.[18] It was revealed on January 7, 2014, that Andy Fickman was in talks to direct the film[19] while Kevin James, who also co-wrote the script with Nick Bakay, would be back to star as Blart. James produced the film along with Todd Garner and Happy Madison's Adam Sandler.[9] The cast includes David Henrie,[12] Raini Rodriguez, Eduardo Verástegui, Nicholas Turturro, Gary Valentine,[10] Neal McDonough,[11] Daniella Alonso,[13] and D. B. Woodside, starring alongside James.[15]

On March 14, 2014, the Nevada Film Office announced that Sony Pictures had been awarded the first certificate of eligibility for a new tax credit enacted in 2013, in regard to the filming of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.[20][21] Nevada Film Office Director, Eric Preiss, indicated that the production would get $4.3 million in tax credits based on the proposal in their application.[22] The film was initially greenlit with a $45–50 million production budget, but after Kevin James agreed to take a paycut the final figure came in at around $38 million.[23] On April 2, 2014, Columbia Pictures announced that the film would be released on April 17, 2015.[24]

Filming
The Wynn building, where the entire film was shot

In an October 2012 interview, James said that he liked the idea of filming the sequel at the Mall of America.[25] Principal photography commenced on April 21, 2014, at Wynn Las Vegas, and ended on June 26, 2014.[26][27][28] It is the first time that Steve Wynn has allowed a commercial film to be shot at this property.[29] For the only scene involving the West Orange Pavilion Mall (shown at the beginning of the film), the only exterior shot of the mall is deleted stock footage of the Burlington Mall taken from the first film, while all interior shots were filmed in Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.

Release

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was released by Columbia Pictures in the United States on April 17, 2015.[24] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 14, 2015.[30]

Reception

Box office

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 grossed $71 million in North America and $36.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $107.5 million, against a production budget of $38 million.[5]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $23.8 million, finishing second at the box office behind Furious 7 ($29.2 million).[31]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 6% based on 63 reviews and an average rating of 3.00/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bathed in flop sweat and bereft of purpose, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 strings together fat-shaming humor and Segway sight gags with uniformly unfunny results."[32] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 13 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[34][35]

Sara Stewart of the New York Post gave the film one out of four stars and wrote that the plot is "just an excuse for James to do his one trick over and over: Bluster, then screw up humiliatingly".[36] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "James tries hard, very hard, to inject the proceedings with slapstick humor, propelling his large body through endless physical contortions in a fruitless effort for laughs."[37] Justin Chang of Variety called it a "tacky, numbingly inane sequel".[38]

In rating the film zero stars, Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com wrote, "Truly, there is not a single redeeming moment in director Andy Fickman's film. A general flatness and lethargy permeate these reheated proceedings."[39] Kevin P. Sullivan of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D and called it "far from the worst movie that you'll ever see", though he wondered why people would bother watching it.[40] Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film a half a star out of four, saying: "Caddyshack 2. Exorcist 2. Speed 2. To this small sample of the ever-expanding list of wretched movie sequels, add Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, a gobsmackingly witless excuse for entertainment."[41] Andy Webster of The New York Times described the film as inoffensive but familiar.[42]

Legacy

In 2015, Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery (hosts of The Worst Idea of All Time) formed a podcast called 'Til Death Do Us Blart with Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Griffin McElroy (hosts of My Brother, My Brother and Me) to review Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 every Thanksgiving for the rest of their lives.[43]

Accolades
Award Category Nominee Result
Teen Choice Awards[44] Choice Movie: Comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Nominated
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Kevin James Nominated
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Raini Rodriguez Nominated
Golden Raspberry Award[45] Worst Picture Todd Garner, Kevin James, Adam Sandler Nominated
Worst Actor Kevin James Nominated
Worst Director Andy Fickman Nominated
Worst Screenplay Nick Bakay and Kevin James Nominated
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Nominated
Worst Screen Combo Kevin James and either his Segway or his glued-on mustache Nominated

Possible sequel

In January 2022, James expressed interest in making a third film, but stated that a script had not yet been developed.[46] Co-star Lauren Ash has also expressed interest in doing a sequel.[47]

References
  1. Chang, Justin (2015). "Film Review: 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2'". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  2. "Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (2015)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  3. Scheck, Frank (April 17, 2015). "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  4. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  5. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  6. "PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 - British Board of Film Classification". bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  7. McClintock, Pamela (April 15, 2015). "Box Office Preview: 'Paul Blart 2,' 'Unfriended' No Match for 'Furious 7'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  8. FilmL.A. (June 15, 2016). "2015 Feature Film Study" (PDF). Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  9. Kit, Borys (January 7, 2014). "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' Sequel Finds a Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  10. Yamato, Jen (February 21, 2014). "Five Join Kevin James In Vegas-Set 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2′". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  11. Kit, Borys (March 25, 2014). "Neal McDonough in Talks to Play Villain in 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  12. Ford, Rebecca (February 21, 2014). "'Mall Cop 2' Adds 'Wizards of Waverly Place' Star David Henrie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  13. Sneider, Jeff (April 7, 2014). "'Revolution' Actress Daniella Alonso Joins Kevin James in 'Paul Blart 2'". TheWrap. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  14. "Loni Love Lands A New Role In 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2′!". Black America Web. April 9, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  15. Kroll, Justin (April 25, 2014). "D.B. Woodside Joins 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2′". Variety. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  16. "Vic DiBitetto Lands a Role in Mall Cop 2 [AUDIO/VIDEO]". New Jersey 101.5. April 14, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  17. Ana Gasteyer: I'm Hip Interview. YouTube. October 9, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  18. Rich, Katey (January 29, 2009). "Sony Wants A Paul Blart Sequel". CinemaBlend. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  19. Sneider, Jeff (January 7, 2014). "Kevin James Collars New Director for 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' Sequel". TheWrap. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  20. Barker, Aaron (March 15, 2014). "NV's first film tax credit goes to 'Mall Cop' sequel". Fox 5 News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  21. Caggiano, Kathleen (August 8, 2013). "Nevada Enacts New Film Tax Credit, Connecticut Imposes Film Moratorium". Bloomberg BNA. Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  22. "This Sequel Is An Original: 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2′ Scores Nevada's First Tax Credit". Deadline Hollywood. March 17, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  23. "Sony Hack Reveals Top-Secret Profitability of 2013 Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. December 5, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  24. McNary, Dave (April 2, 2014). "Kevin James' 'Paul Blart' Sequel Set for April 17, 2015". Variety. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  25. Lammers, Tim (October 13, 2012). "Kevin James likes idea of filming 'Mall Cop 2' in Mall of America". BringMeTheNews. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  26. Christine (April 18, 2014). "'Mall Cop 2′ begins filming in Las Vegas on Monday". On Location Vacations. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  27. Sony Pictures Entertainment; Wynn Las Vegas (April 15, 2014). "Wynn Las Vegas to Play Leading Role as Primary Location in Sony Pictures Entertainment's "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2"" (Press release). PR Newswire. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014 – via MarketWatch.
  28. "On The Set For 6/30/14: Point Break Starts, Kevin James Wraps up Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2". Studio System News. June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  29. Elfman, Doug (April 16, 2014). "Kevin James films 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2' in Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  30. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
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  34. McClintock, Pamela (April 17, 2015). "Box Office: 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2' Heads for $22M; 'Furious 7' Stays No. 1". The Hollywood Reporter. Mall Cop 2 fared better with moviegoers, who gave it a B- CinemaScore overall. And among those 18 and under, it nabbed an A- CinemaScore.
  35. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  36. Stewart, Sara (April 17, 2015). "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2' is lame James". New York Post. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  37. Scheck, Frank (April 17, 2015). "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  38. Chang, Justin (April 17, 2015). "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2′ Review: Kevin James Heads to Vegas". Variety. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  39. Wloszczyna, Susan (April 17, 2015). "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Movie Review (2015)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  40. Sullivan, Kevin P. (April 17, 2015). "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  41. Howell, Peter (April 17, 2015). "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 an artless sequel: review". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  42. Webster, Andy (April 17, 2015). "Review: 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2,' Starring Kevin James, Heads to Las Vegas". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  43. "Till Death Do Us Blart". Till Death Do Us Blart. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  44. "2015 Teen Choice Award Winners – Full List". Variety. August 16, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  45. "'Fifty Shades of Grey' Tops Razzie Awards". CNN. February 28, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  46. "Paul Blart 3 Update Given By Kevin James". Screen Rant. January 25, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  47. "Where is PAUL BLART MALL COP 3? Feat. TV's LAUREN ASH". Up All Night With Bob. August 24, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via YouTube.
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