On "Slumdog" and "Mall Cop" 1/28/09

I am a movie person. Amongst my circle of friends, Maria is the music person, Julianne is the book person and I am the movie person. People frequently ask my opinion on films I've seen and look for recommendations on films that they should see. My love affair with the movies began when I was just a child, my dad carting my sisters and me to anything and everything. (Though I question some of those choices. He took us to see "2001: A Space Odyssey" twice and I still didn't get it.) Not limited to the theater, I watched whatever I could on our home television, enjoying Godzilla movies with the same enthusiasm as old Fred Astaire films. Attending a communications college in Boston allowed me to expand my film-going horizons with foreign films, animation festivals and the like.

It's this extensive film background which allowed me to appreciate the irony of seeing "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" on the same weekend.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is a small-budget film that tells the story of Jamal, an orphan from Mumbai, India who has made it to the twenty million-rupee question on India's version of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire". The film chronicles how Jamal makes it to the final question and his motivation for going on the program.

On the opposite end of the film spectrum, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", is the tale of an overweight, sad sack of a security guard played by comic Kevin James. Paul dreams of becoming a State Trooper but a medical condition keeps him in store security. He spends his days patrolling the mall on his Segway, mooning over Amy, the owner of the new hair extension kiosk "UnbeWeavable". Paul's unsatisfying life is interrupted when thieves take over his mall with credit theft on their minds.

At this point it would be easy to resort to film snobbery and praise Oscar-nominated "Slumdog" to the heavens while trashing the mass-market "Paul Blart". But I'm an equal opportunity filmgoer. I appreciate both "It Happened One Night and "Night of the Living Dead". Most films I've seen have some redeeming value (I loved “City Slickers”, but "City Slickers 2"? What were they thinking?). On reflection, I discovered several parallels between "Slumdog" and "Paul Blart".

Both Jamal and Paul are presented with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Both characters are underestimated in their ability to meet these challenges. And finally, both characters rise to these challenges in order to save the woman they love.

Of course there are differences too. "Slumdog" is likely to take home quite a few Oscars next month, and while it's a finely crafted film, it's definitely not for kids. "Paul Blart" won't win any awards (okay, maybe a Kid's Choice Award) but the sight of Kevin James flying over the handles of his Segway into a mini-van is sure to make your children laugh. Regardless of your preference, both films will have you leaving the theater feeling uplifted. And with the way things are today, that’s a good thing.

But there can be too much of a good thing, so please… No “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”.