New to DVD: "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"

Right when Happy Madison Productions comes on the screen for new-to-DVD Paul Blart: Mall Cop, I know I'm not watching an Oscar-winning film. But I also figure that there's a good chance that the movie is going to garner a few good laughs, and probably have some replay value.

I mean, no one really knew what the heck to think about Billy Madison when it came out, but then you just kept watching it over and over until it spawned a litany of one-liners and character clones.

While I'll not give Blart Madison status, there are some characteristics that put it outside the typical feel-good slapstick.

First of all, it doesn't have that much slapstick. If it's nothing but Kevin James slipping on stuff or banging his head for 90-minutes, I would have lost interest quick. Fortunately, James is given some room and plays a mall cop perfectly - the comedy being the sort of sad irony that makes "The Office" so great rather than the paper-thin characters of most Rob Schneider Happy Madison flicks.

That said, almost everything that occurs is completely predictable, and it just fills out the 90-minutes before getting tired. Another ten minutes would have really hurt it, so good editing deserves some credit. While I think IMDb's rating of 5.5 isn't far off the mark, it's a solid 5.5 and not a mediocre score because something that should have been awesome was ruined. Instead, this is a so-so flick making you laugh a little and feel good. Nothing wrong with that.

The free-running is pretty sweat too.