Failed parole officer Simon Garden 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 love interest Emma, Garden must break into the bank and steal the CCTV footage in order to clear his name.....Oh the transition from TV to big screen is a long and arduous path. Some succeed with very little effort (Simon Pegg), but for others, they suffer an unfortunate Mis-step, which hinders them for a while.2001 had two particular cases of the latter. The awful Ali G Inda House was one, and this was the other casualty.The story is good enough, but the humour just feels so seventies TV sitcom, and the inclusion of the vomit scene on The Big One wreaks of desperation. Every one who is a fan of Coogan knows that he is a comic genius, his characters are hilarious and self deprecating, but here with Garden, it seems that he is trying to hard to channel Peter Sellers, but it always ends up with him reverting back to Partridge, which hinders the narrative.The rest if the cast are fine, but they are relegated to stereotypes, and appearing in little sketches that the film resorts too for laughs.It's a shame, because there are a few funny moments in the film, Om Puri is truly funny in his role, but at the end of the day, it just feels like a TV Christmas special, and no amount of Omar Sharif in a comedy wig can change it.

Coogan stars in and co-writes a hilarious comedy. 'The Parole Officer' already has a diverse cast that includes Lena Heady, Om Puri, Steven Waddington, Emma Williams, Ben Miller and Stephen Dillane. In addition, there are some interesting and amusing cameos by Simon Pegg, Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter. It was fun to watch all these fine actors match wits with each other and produce loads of laugh out loud moments. The plot has its share of flaws but then again, this is the kind of movie that is best enjoyed with little nitpicking. The gags work very well. There are hilarious dialogues and plenty of slapstick to draw laugh out loud moments. The attempts of our five heroes in attempting to plan the robbery, in addition to the funny gadgets, were very amusing to watch. Coogan has proved again what a great comedy actor he is and the guy can write. The innovative humour and fine cast make this one a rocky little British comedy.

"The Parole Officer" is a funny little comedy gem from the UK that has its share of flaws. Occasionally the jokes are just a bit too silly and the movie has a few lengths in the middle. Also, the score seems completely out of place more often than not.On the plus side, though, the film has got a great cast. Most jokes work because the actors deliver them with such great timing. Nothing needs to be said about Steve Coogan anymore. Everybody knows his talent by now and the man is rightfully on his way to a career in Hollywood. Ben Miller can be seen here, too, before he came to bigger fame with "The Worst Week Of My Life". He's great, just like Om Puri, George Steven Waddington and Emma Williams, all of which play a group of ex-criminals who plan to break into a bank to steal evidence that will clear the name of the wrong-fully accused title character (played by Coogan). Lena Headey is another face you might recognize from "300" or the new "Terminator" TV-series. She's just gorgeous, beautiful and very charming. Omar Sharif makes a prominent cameo and there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance by Simon Pegg - probably the best moment of the entire movie.So, yeah, "The Parole Officer" is a very enjoyable movie. Not all jokes hit the bullseye, but you'll laugh more than a few times. I really recommend this movie to everyone who likes classic Heist flicks and/or comedies like "Fletch".

This film has been almost universally criticised by reviewers, so much so that I rather assumed it would be an unfunny dud. I was pleasantly surprised!(S0ME VERY MINOR SPOILERS)The plot may be highly improbable and have some gaping holes (e.g. why didn't the murderers just destroy the incriminating video?) but it is a very strong storyline that carries you and the film along with it. The presence of Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter lend real weight to the cast list - Sharif in particular is excellent though Agutter is under-used. And there are many genuinely funny scenes. The all-singing all-dancing 'feelgood' finale is reminiscent of Bend It Like Beckham. And for this British reviewer it was refreshing to see a very British film for a change, with British locations and a totally different 'feel' to most US fare.In my opinion, where the movie could have really benefited would have been from a rewrite of the weaker sections, where the jokes fall a bit flat. This could have taken it from being a good film to a great one.