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The Delicate Art of Parking

by Erin Harvey on October 13th, 2005

A disgruntled independent film maker who has amassed thousands of dollars in parking tickets wants to take aim at ‘the man’ and expose the parking enforcement services for what they are: a tax collection agency.

Shot documentary style, this zany Canadian comedy takes a look at the parking enforcers in a way you might never have thought of them. Lonny, the director, is a difficult man to work for. Having butted heads with most of the experienced film crews in the city, he is forced to rely on his friend Gus, and Gus’ Russian cousin Olena, to act as his camera and sound team. When his car is towed yet again, Lonny drags them along to the impound yard where he gets in the face of the employee at the front desk, and becomes even more determined to make his movie.

Befriending a parking enforcer named Grant - who feels that his job is an essential service to the public and pursues ticketing greatness with the dedication of an Olympic athlete - Lonny becomes an insider, attending association meetings and hanging out with the enforcers and tow truck drivers at their highly secretive bar. He and his crew, along with Grant and Jerome (a huge tow truck driver from Quebec), get tangled up in more than they bargained for when Grant’s enforcement idol Murray, is run down on the job. As they investigate the accident they begin to suspect that something nefarious was going on in the parking world when they are stonewalled by union reps, and Murray’s impeccable record is brought into question.

Conceptually The Delicate Art of Parking was a great idea. A documentary style comedy about parking enforcement…can’t say I’ve ever heard of that being done before, and the sheer oddness of the subject was what got me interested in the movie in the first place. It was certainly funny in spots, and a glimpse at the seedy underbelly of parking enforcement was in itself chuckle worthy. I thought that Nancy Robertson as Harriet Sharpe was a scene stealer with her outspoken opinions and tendency towards flirtation. Diana Pavlovská as Olena also turned in an amusing performance.

The Delicate Art of Parking is not a simple comedy however; there a sort of innocent hope to it all, showcasing the joy in doing a job and doing well, and the importance of having a few good friends. It’s also provides a bit of shallow commentary on this dawning new age of technology, and touches on society’s self-absorbed and, at times, vindictive nature.

I liked it. Plain and simple. I wasn’t bowled over by it, but it was nice to sit down to a comedy that wasn’t in-your-face and didn’t rely purely on sight gags and corny dialogue to make itself funny. I did feel that it was a little slow in spots though, and I’m not sure what could have been done to help with that.

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POSTED IN: Mockumentary, Film Reviews