The Parole Officer

British television comic Steve Coogan made his first bid for a big-screen career in this comedy, in which he plays Simon Garden, a singularly inept parole officer who has not had terribly good luck with his clients — after many years on the job, only three of the former prisoners he’s been looking after have avoided returning to a life of crime. Garden is transferred from his post in Blackpool to a new assignment in Manchester, and it isn’t long before he finds himself in hot water. Garden happened to be on hand when Burton (Stephen Dellane), a crooked cop, murdered a drug dealer with whom he had been involved in a cocaine deal. Realizing he’s in trouble, Burton rearranges the evidence so that Garden looks like the killer. A surveillance camera captured Burton’s crime on tape, and now Garden must get his hands on the tape in order to clear his name. However, Burton has cleverly stashed the tape in a top security bank vault to keep it away from Garden, so the parole officer must stage a break-in to collect the evidence — and he chooses as his accomplices George (Om Puri), Jeff (Steven Waddington), and Colin (Ben Miller), the three parolees who’ve stayed out of trouble until now. The Parole Officer also features Emma Williams as a former associate of Burton’s who ends up helping out Garden, and cameos from Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter., Steve Coogan stars in the enjoyably offbeat farce. An inept parole officer attempts to recover the CCTV tape that proves him innocent of a murder for which he has been framed., Steve Coogan stars in this enjoyably offbeat farce. An inept parole officer attempts to recover the CCTV tape that proves him innocent of a murder for which he’s been framed. Dir: John Duigan., Offbeat comedy following an inept parole officer’s efforts to recover the CCTV tape that proves him innocent of the murder for which he has been framed. Unfortunately, the evidence has been cleverly concealed within a high-security bank vault by the real culprit, a high-ranking but corrupt policeman. With the help of four bungling ex-criminals, the parole officer attempts to steal back the tape and clear his name., A failed parole officer (Steve Coogan) tries to clear himself after being framed for a murder committed by an English police constable. Lena Headey. Directed by John Duigan., Failed parole officer Steve Garden is framed for a murder committed by one of Manchester’s leading police constables. The only evidence proving his innocence is CCTV videotape locked inside a bank vault. With the help of four inept ex-criminals and token love interest Emma, Garden must break into the bank and steal the CCTV footage in order to clear his name., Hopeless parole officer Simon Garden has only ever rehabilitated three criminals. But he needs all of the them when he’s framed for murder by sneaky DI Burton. Crime caper which aims at Ealing-style comedy.