Paul Blart: Mall Cop (PG) **

By Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel

The thin comic appeal of Kevin James is laid on a bit thicker in Paul Blart: Mall Cop, his first solo star vehicle for the big screen. As a chunky loner-loser who can never pass the New Jersey State Police exam and never get the girl, James practically channels John Candy at his most sympathetic in this not-a-real-cop comedy.

''Detect, deter, observe, report'' is the mall cop's motto. But Blart, a lonely single dad smitten with the blond (Jayma Mays) who sells hair extensions from a kiosk, always goes the extra mile, even when elderly customers are running him over with their scooters or obese women are giving him a beat-down or generally abusing him due to his lack of real authority.

Blart is a master of his domain -- the West Orange Pavilion Mall -- and of the steed that carries him through it, a Segway. James' balletic mastery of the vehicle for this role (he co-wrote the script) is easily the best thing about Mall Cop. The Segway becomes an extension of the portly Blart's persona -- underestimated, able to take a licking and keep on ticking.

The movie is about Paul Blart's greatest challenge -- a mall robbery with hostages. Blart must fend off trigger-happy cops led by the guy who bullied him in high school (Bobby Cannavale) and pick off a pack of skateboard-riding robbers one by one, rescue the girl and save the day.

Yawn.

But the big man still finds big laughs in his character's mall-savviness, his self-deprecating use of his girth (he's the butt of his own butt jokes) and his many Segway moments.

Cast: Kevin James, Bobby Cannavale, Jayma Mays

Director: Steve Carr

Screenwriters: Kevin James, Nick Bakay

Producers: Doug Belgrad, Todd Garner, Kevin James

A Columbia Pictures release. Running time: 87 minutes. Mock violence, vulgar language. Playing at area theaters.

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