The Parole Officer (2001)

A failed parole officer framed for murder must enlist the help of his former clients to clear his name.

Director:

John Duigan

Writers:

Steve Coogan, Henry Normal

Stars:

Steve Coogan, Lena Headey, Emma Gilmour

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Coogan	...	Simon Garden
Emma Gilmour	...	Secretary
Susan Jane Tanner	...	Stern Woman
Iain Mitchell	...	Tribunal Chairman
James Smith	...	Tribunal Man
Om Puri	...	George
Steven Waddington	...	Jeff
Ben Miller	...	Colin
Emma Williams	...	Kirsty
Stephen Dillane	...	Inspector Burton
Bruce McGregor	...	First Policeman
Lena Headey	...	Emma
Justin Burrows	...	Mills
Marc Goodhall	...	Death / Student (as Marc Goodall)
Clive Kneller	...	Deacon

Storyline

Failed parole officer Simon Garden (Coogan) is framed for a murder committed by one of Manchester's leading police officers. The only evidence proving his innocence is a CCTV video tape locked inside a bank vault. With the help of four inept ex-criminals and token love interest Emma (Lena Headey), Garden must break into the bank and steal the CCTV footage in order to clear his name.

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Plot Keywords:

frame up | man wears eyeglasses | bag of money | video cassette recorder | cctv | 

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Taglines:

Fighting crime the only way he knows how. Badly.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content/nudity and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The outside shots of the West Clyde Bank were filmed in an old bank in Castle Street, Liverpool. The interior shots identify it as being the Deansgate Branch, Manchester.

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Goofs

When Kirsty breaks them out of jail with the stolen van, the fake wall is visible.

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Quotes

[at Victor's grave]
Sarah, Victor's Wife: After he worked with you he tried to give up his life of crime. He channelled his interests into amateur dramatics. One night he sneaked off to do the safe at Jackson's - you know, the food-processing plant? Two days later, one of the machines was playing up. They reckon he must have fallen into the mincer.
All: Ugh!
Sarah, Victor's Wife: By that stage the order's already gone out. They tried to recall them, but all they got back was half-a-dozen pies and a couple of pasties.
Simon Garden: And is that what's...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

During the first part of the credits there is footage showing the cast dancing to "Heroes" by David Bowie

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Connections

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

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Soundtracks

Ain't Got No - I Got Life
Performed by Nina Simone
Written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado and Gerome Ragni
Published by EMI United Publishing Ltd
Courtesy of RCA Records/BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Hardly original but certainly entertaining

Some of the criticism this film has received seems a little unfair. While its concept, plot and characters are not very inventive, the tone of the film works. The humour is often very amusing indeed, and much does amuse in the film. Even the predictable attempts at "Gross-Out" humour work in themselves, if perhaps not in the context of the film.

Questions could be raised about the film's odd mix of styles - the attempts at naturalism and post-modernism, old-fashioned lightweight adventure and Ealing whimsicality - all seem at odds with each other, yet an entertaining film emerges from this. The playing of an impressive cast is sound, with the supporting players, like Om Puri and Ben Miller making the most of limited parts. Stephen Dillane does a steady job as a smug, self-satisfied policeman baddie. I much enjoyed the absurd bit where he laughs maniacally for a while while on TV and the camera zooms into the TV screen Coogan is watching him on. Newcomer Emma Williams is an effective addition to the cast, although she doesn't have all that much to do in plot terms, come to think of it. The finely named Lena Headey is very inoffensive as the "love interest", and thankfully the romance such as it is is light-hearted and made part of the convoluted plot. Perhaps a problem is the excess of characters, a few of whom could be done without. Omar Sharif's cameo was briskly enjoyable, but hardly necessary to the plot, for example. Steve Coogan, so successful on TV with the Alan Partridge character, goes for a more likable, less intricate comic character in this film. He is often excellent, in scenes such as when he does an odd, buffoonish dance in a club. There are plenty of effective little character touches and importantly, one is made to like his character and want him and his "gang" to win out, so to speak, by the end. A film reminiscent of past British Ealing comedies, yet with a fair dose of crudity. In the context of today, this is an impressively funny film, but it does not quite match up to "The Ladykillers" or "The League of Gentlemen", for example. It is slightly overlong, but largely a winning, refreshing minor comedy.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

10 August 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

Das B-Team: Beschränkt und auf Bewährung

Filming Locations:

Grains Road, Shaw and Crompton, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,424,253

Company Credits

Production Co:

DNA Films, Figment Films, Toledo Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1