Michael Ledo Walter Dishman (David Denman) is a parole officer who is in life's rut. He is straight and wears sweaters like Rick Santorum and is just as boring. His character is contrasted by a gaggle of colorful characters which include the supporting minor roles.He has three parolees whose lives we follow.Darla (Gillian Jacobs) She is a pretty blond who is amoral, manipulative, and has her own jazz swagger music. She went to jail for selling her engagement ring on E-Bay. As it turns out her boyfriend stole it.Artie Satz (Edward Asner) He has a long rap sheet for armed robbery. He is a curmudgeon's curmudgeon. He doesn't need anyone. He has "survived two world wars, the Great Depression and that Coke crap they tried to pull in the eighties."Kris Styles (Kevin Hart). He is a doctor who was convicted of bilking insurance companies. He can no longer practice and is wealthy enough not to work. The kicker is that work is part of his parole so he finds himself in blue collar jobs that don't suit him. He has ex-wife emotional baggage.The film concentrates on creating memorable characters down to the Goth at the coffee shop to the over bubbly career counselor. The film is humorous and well done. This would make for a decent date night film, or even a film on family night for the older kids.Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

bwfurness I first saw this film at the Virginia Film Festival. I have since bought the DVD for myself and others. I love this movie! Especially the following: 1. the animated title sequence and scene transitions 2. the interesting use of color – particularly red 3. the surprisingly good performances by comedic actors from The Office, Community, and The Big Bang Theory 4. the recurring thread of the Santa Monica Pier 5. the use and placement of the Other Lives song "Black Tables" I am old enough to remember Ed Asner from television. It was nice seeing him again on the big screen. I also thoroughly enjoyed the performances of Kevin Hart, David Denman, and Gillian Jacobs. I believe this is the first effort by writer / director Brian Jett. I truly hope it is not his last. Definitely worth watching!

mikechinea I think the reason this gem did not get the proper release is that it was marketed to a hip Kevin Hart audience and not the Ed Asner audience. Here you have something closer to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with brilliant performances but the marketing people missed the mark. Kevin Hart's tragic character Kris performance was spot on, it had its comic moments but you felt the character's fallen from grace humiliation. So if you went in thinking you were going to get a laugh a minute from this comic genius you were disappointed. Only Ed Asner could have pulled off Artie, the nasty crotchety old buzzard career criminal and still be so endearing. Director Brian Jett got Oscar worthy performances out of these two and others in the cast. As an audience, do we have the time to sit and appreciate the complexities of Walter, played brilliantly by David Denman? He had to play straight man to a cast of faulted characters while dealing with his own short comings. Who did not fall in love with Darla? Gillian Jacobs was, well, beautiful as ever and you sensed her conniving character becoming real and not just putting on an act just to get what she wanted. I know that with people in the cast like Ed Asner, Kevin Hart, Dov Davidoff, Garrett Morris, Jack Carter, Rance Howard you'd expect a laugh a minute but instead you end up watching a sweet moving movie about people in situations that you have to laugh to keep from crying. This was a tragic comedy doing a high wire act between tragedy and comedy. Brian Jett did a great job with 4 strong characters, each with their own character arc, their own issues and their own way to resolving them. This is a comedy but not for the MTV crowd.

Tony Heck "I don't think anyone actually wants to become a parole officer." Walter is a parole officer who isn't happy with his job. One by one a new offender comes to him and he has to lay out the rules. During his recent sting of offenders he meets three very different personalities and does his best to try and help them all. He finds that helping them he starts to help himself. Going in I was not really looking forward to this that much. The preview made it look OK but I still thought it could be a little slow moving. This was the opposite. The humor was really funny but still a little quirky. Kevin Hart was great in this and he really stole the movie. There really isn't too much to this movie other then all four of the main people trying to straighten out their lives but this is worth seeing. This is the type of movie you can just put in and watch without really having to think about too much and every once in a while that is nice to do. Overall, a fun lighthearted comedy that is relaxing to watch. I give it a B.