Kevin James kept me from fleeing the theater while watching Will Smith’s one true disaster - “Hitch.”
But that, plus co-starring with Adam Sandler in “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” didn’t certify his box office clout.
It took a “Mall Cop” to do that.
James’ “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” could earn as much as $35 million this weekend, and that’s all based on his hefty appeal. “Cop” isn’t a sequel, or a remake, and there’s no box office draws in the cast other than James.
So congrats, erstwhile “King of Queens.” And let’s hope you use your clout wisely.
(Photo: Kevin James proves he can draw a crowd in the amiable comedy “Paul Blart; Mall Cop.”)
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I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of both the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
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OK, so Kevin James can open a movie all by his lonesome. And he can do it without uttering a single F-bomb. Does that excuse what, above all else, is an utter piece of crap? James should take a lesson from Steve Martin who’s thrown away his own comic legacy to make movies that are to what Peter Sellers did what Buddy Van Horn is to Stanley Kubrick.
Good point … the difference is that James started out as a TV star on a show that’s hardly “Seinfeld.” So his ability to open a film is a surprise. Martin is a comic icon who we expect great things from.
Let’s hope James can build off “Mall Cop” and deliver increasingly better films.