A recent public service announcement reminds residents of drought-plagued California not to waste precious resources by leaving the water running while they’re brushing their teeth. But who’s going to speak out against the flagrant and wanton misuse of talented comedians in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2?”
I’ve given up hope on Kevin James, who long ago made a devil’s bargain with the soul-crushing destroyers of cinema at Adam Sandler‘s Happy Madison shingle, but why did he have to drag down Ana Gasteyer and Loni Love, two exceptionally funny women wasted here in nothing roles and shaming wigs? And how could Nick Bakay, whose extensive résumé includes Joel Hodgson’s innovative and hilarious “The TV Wheel,” share a screenplay credit (with James, of course) on a movie whose chuckles (six, I counted) are outnumbered by helicopter shots of the Wynn resort in Las Vegas?
(Incidentally, having sat through “The Hangover,” “Last Vegas,” “21,” “Think Like a Man Too” and more Vegas movies than I care to count, I hereby challenge filmmakers to create an establishing shot of the city’s skyline that doesn’t look like it was distributed to every production by the Convention & Visitors Authority.