The first Paul Blart: Mall Cop was a dumb, forgettable comedy. It was full of fat jokes, slapstick humor and even more fat jokes - which is why it's so surprising that a sequel was ever given the go-ahead in the first place.
What's less surprising is that the sequel was even worse than the film that spawned it: according to critics, there aren't any real jokes aside from the story itself, and any semblance of 'acting' is notably absent for the duration of the film. If the first movie was a bad joke that was stretched out into a length feature film, the second is just the awkward laughter that follows.
Since its release, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2's rating over at Rotten Tomatoes reflected that sentiment perfectly: the film's sitting at an astonishingly bad 0%. It's one of the few universally hated movies on the site - or, at least it used to be.
While it may sound like a practical joke, two genuinely positive reviews for the film have been published.
As a result, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2's score has been bumped all the way from a 0% rating to a surprisingly generous 4%, as pointed out by Uproxx.
"...the sequel may be utterly predictable and play blatantly on stereotypes and well-worn gags, but there's something amiable and engaging about the character of Paul Blart - a kind of action-cop version of Homer Simpson."
That's from Screenwize's Simon Weaving, who gave the film three out of five stars - and he goes on to say that the scene in which Kevin James wrestles with a fake bird is the funniest sketch in the movie.
If that's not enough, 693 News Talk's Jim Schembri claimed that critics were simply too hard on the movie:
"...a perfectly congenial, innocuous goofball comedy. It's not as funny as the first film, but it is funny enough.
As decent, modest and unassuming as this chuckle-worthy little film is it has, for some reason, become subject to some of the most vitriolic reviews in recent memory. Reading over a sampling of them, it is difficult to figure out why. At least audiences seem to like Blart's latest adventure, if the box office is any guide."
Well, at least we know that the film has at least two fans. If, for whatever reason, you wanted to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, it's in theaters now.
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