The Parole Officer

Steve Coogan, the great British funny man, is Simon Garden, unsuccessful civil servant whose success rate is three out of a thousand ex-cons who have not returned to a life of crime! A far cry from the Alan Partridge he is used to playing but still hilarious.

When Simon inadvertently witnesses a murder, with the killer being a senior Manchester detective, he runs for his life. Once the detective discovers that Garden witnessed the crime he threatens to frame Garden and send him to prison 'to be raped in the showers'.

The only chance Garden has to clear his name is to get to a CCTV tape showing the murder, and hand it to the police. Unfortunately the tape has been hidden in a bank vault and Garden is unable to get hold of it. However, with a little bit of help from the ex-cons he once tried to help, Garden decides to rob the bank and get the tape.

There are some extremely funny moments in The Parole Officer, in particular there is a scene on a roller coaster when a very nauseous Simon throws up and covers the kids sitting behind him with some very realistic vomit! Then there's the scene in the art gallery where a priceless statue's willy snaps off in Garden's hand. More subtlety there is the scene in Simon's house where he has written on the "To Do" Board… 'Rob the Bank'.

Overall, this is a very funny film which you don't have to think about too hard, well worth a look!

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