You remember the 2009 box office shocker Paul Blart: Mall Cop. It was the movie that turned a Segway into a comedic icon and made Kevin James the face of suburban heroism. But if you look back at the heart of that first film, it wasn't just about the slapstick or the hypoglycemic faints. It was about Amy from Paul Blart.
Amy Anderson, played by the incredibly charming Jayma Mays, was the soul of the West Orange Pavilion Mall. She was the sweet-natured kiosk owner selling hair extensions and weaves who somehow saw past Paul’s bumbling exterior. For a lot of fans, their romance was the reason to actually root for the guy.
Then 2015 happened.
When Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 hit theaters, audiences were ready for a family vacation with the Blart-Anderson clan. Instead, they got one of the most brutal "happily ever after" erasures in comedy history. Honestly, it’s still a bit of a sore spot for fans of the original.
Who Was Amy Anderson?
In the first film, Amy wasn't just a trophy. She was a hardworking entrepreneur. While Paul was busy "detecting, deterring, observing, and reporting," Amy was just trying to run her business. Jayma Mays brought this "Kewpie doll" energy to the role—big eyes, genuine kindness, and a weirdly high tolerance for Paul’s social disasters.
Remember the nacho-eating contest? Paul gets absolutely wrecked by spicy peppers, mistakes margaritas for lemonade, and ends up flying through a window. Most people would have blocked his number immediately. Amy? She was disappointed, sure, but she still saw the "good man" underneath the sweat and nacho cheese.
That’s why the stakes felt real when the heist went down. When Veck Simms (the "trainee" turned villain) took Amy hostage, it wasn't just a job for Paul anymore. It was personal. He stayed in that mall when the SWAT team told him to kick rocks specifically because Amy was inside.
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The Jayma Mays Factor
Before she was Amy from Paul Blart, Jayma Mays was already building a reputation for playing quirky, lovable characters. You might recognize her from:
- Glee: As the germaphobic guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury.
- Heroes: As Charlie Andrews, the girl with the photographic memory.
- The Smurfs: Playing Grace Winslow.
She has this specific talent for playing "the normal girl in a weird world." In Paul Blart, she provided the grounded reality that made Kevin James' physical comedy actually land. Without her, Paul is just a guy falling off a scooter. With her, he’s a guy falling off a scooter for love.
The Great Disappearance: Why Was Amy Written Out?
If you watched the sequel, you probably remember the "blink and you'll miss it" cameo. It was jarring. The movie opens with a montage explaining that Amy divorced Paul after just six days of marriage.
Six. Days.
Basically, the writers decided that Paul Blart is funnier when he’s a "lovable loser" rather than a guy who actually won. By removing Amy, they reset his character arc so he could be the sad-sack underdog all over again.
But why did it happen in real life? It mostly came down to a classic Hollywood problem: scheduling.
By the time the sequel was in production, Jayma Mays was a massive star on Glee. The filming schedules for a network TV show are notoriously grueling. It’s hard to fly off to shoot a major movie in Las Vegas when you’re contracted for 22 episodes of a musical dramedy. While she did appear in a brief cameo to wrap up the character (and officially end the marriage), the "Amy" era was over.
Why Fans Are Still Annoyed
Social media and Reddit threads are still littered with people who feel the sequel did Amy dirty. It felt cynical. You spend 90 minutes watching a guy overcome his insecurities to win the girl, only for the sequel to tell you it didn't even last a week.
It also changed the tone. The first movie was a sweet underdog story. The second movie felt more like a mean-spirited joke at Paul's expense. When you take away the one person who truly believed in him, the comedy starts to feel a little hollow.
Also, can we talk about the timing? Not only did Amy leave him, but his mother got hit by a milk truck in the same opening sequence. The writers really wanted Paul to be alone, didn't they?
What Jayma Mays Is Doing Now
If you're worried about the actress behind Amy from Paul Blart, don't be. Jayma Mays has stayed incredibly busy since the mall heist days.
She voiced Dulcinea in The Adventures of Puss in Boots and starred in the cult-favorite NBC mockumentary Trial & Error as Carol Anne Keane. More recently, she appeared in the Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted, and the 2020 film Bill & Ted Face the Music. She’s doing just fine, even if she’s no longer selling hair extensions in a New Jersey mall.
How to Appreciate the Amy Legacy
If you want to revisit the best of this character, skip the sequel. Just watch the 2009 original and turn it off before the credits end.
In that bubble, Amy Anderson is still the kiosk queen who loves a guy on a Segway. She represents that specific era of mid-2000s comedies where the "hot girl" wasn't just a background prop, but a catalyst for the hero to actually grow up.
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- Re-watch for the Chemistry: Pay attention to the "date" scene at the restaurant. It’s a masterclass in awkward physical comedy balanced by Mays' reactive acting.
- Look for the Easter Eggs: In the first film, Amy's kiosk is actually full of real brands and products from that era—it’s a weirdly accurate time capsule of 2009 mall culture.
- Appreciate the Arc: View Paul Blart as a standalone film. The character growth for both Paul and Amy makes way more sense if you ignore the "six-day divorce" retcon of the second movie.
Amy Anderson might have been written out of the franchise, but she remains the most important part of the Paul Blart mythos. She was the only person who saw a hero where everyone else saw a "mall cop."