{"product_id":"3259190234994-parole-officer","title":"The Parole Officer","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePRODUCT DESCRIPTION \u003cbr\u003e DVD Special Features: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Making of Feature--22 minutes \u003cbr\u003eAtomic Kitten Promo \"Eternal Flame\" \u003cbr\u003eHidden bonus scene (Easter Egg) \u003cbr\u003eCommentary featuring Steve Coogan (Writer \u0026amp; Star), Henry Normal (Co-writer), John Duigan (Director) and Duncan Kenworthy (Producer) \u003cbr\u003eDeleted Scenes--six separate scenes, eight minutes of unseen footage, with optional commentary\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e AMAZON REVIEW \u003cbr\u003e Although there are one or two belly laughs along the way, for the most part The Parole Officer gets by on the pleasantly old-fashioned charm of a latter-day Ealing comedy. And despite a handful of gross-out moments (involving a roller coaster at Blackpool, a severed head and a wasp) most of the humour comes from the interaction of a good ensemble cast. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIts the first big-screen vehicle for Steve Coogan, who plays the titular officer as a watered-down, more likeable version of his most famous creation, Alan Partridge. After being set up by a corrupt detective Coogans hapless Simon Garden--in fact always identified as a Probation Officer, so presumably the films title is an attempt to attract a transatlantic audience--must recruit a motley gang of his ex-con clients to plan and execute a bank robbery in Manchester. Indeed, one of the films principal attractions is its affectionate use of that city centre as a setting instead of the more usual seedy London locations of most British caper-comedies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCoogans gang are a familiarly dysfunctional bunch, redeemed by sympathetic performances from, notably, Om Puri as irascible serial bigamist George and the young Emma Williams as serial car thief Kirsty. Not enough effort goes into fleshing out the characters, though, and in particular Lena Headey as Coogans policewoman girlfriend is far too thinly sketched to seem convincing. However, much fun is had by all as the team bond, bicker and construct, A Team-style, the tools they need for the big heist. The bank raid itself is the films highlight and features a surprising deus ex machina appearance from a very distinguished guest star. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf The Parole Officer never stretches to the sublime heights (or psychological depths) of Im Alan Partridge, it does play out in a brisk 90 minutes like an extended episode of Coogans Run; which is to say its got plenty of easygoing charm even if it never pushes any boundaries.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the DVD: the handful of extra features include a surprisingly serious commentary from Coogan, cowriter Henry Normal, director John Duigan and producer Duncan Kenworthy. More interesting is the handful of deleted scenes, in which we find that some precious character development was sacrificed in the interests of pace (as well as a couple of perfectly good jokes). There's a 22-minute featurette, which isn't really a \"making of\" but just a series of interviews with the principal cast, plus the trailer and Atomic Kitten's \"Eternal Flame\" video. The picture is a good anamorphic (16:9) ratio with Dolby 5.1 sound. --Mark Walker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31855223308385,"sku":"3259190234994","price":4.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_233664_1166278_jpg.jpg?v=1711049055","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/3259190234994-parole-officer","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}