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.
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.