Everywhere I have seen this film advertised, it is put under the category of documentary. Considering the actual plot of it, it seems as though it must be a mockumentary. Does anyone know anything about this? Also, imdb.com has it posted as a Comedy, so I'm pretty sure it's not a real documentary.
Thanks, Pat.
Well I haven't seen any robotic parking meters in the city of Vancouver, so its obviously not a Documentary...haha
shareOther than the obvious thing about Vancouver not using talking cameras in parking meters (which would be absurdly expensive, heh), there is the matter of the police. Vancouver has the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), however the police in this movie had "Metro Police" written on their uniforms.
shareActually, Vancouver (like most big cities) doesn't use the RCMP. There is an independent Vancouver Police Department.
shareInteresting, I was not aware of that. I thought they all fell under the category of RCMP.
I just looked it up, and it seems that there is a random set of cities that use Police Departments or RCMP Detachments. I currently live in Burnaby, which does use an RCMP Detachment.
Cities using Police Departments:
Abbotsford
Delta
New Westminster
Port Moody
West Vancouver
Cities using RCMP Detachments:
Burnaby
Coquitlam
Langley
Richmond
Ridge-Meadows
Surrey
North Vancouver
Although it does not seem to have to do with size, as you suggested. Richmond is far more of a bustling metropolis than New West or Abbotsford, but still uses RCMP.
Policing is under provincial jurisdiction, as are municipalities, so the only way a federal body like the RCMP can operate as a local police force is by agreeing to a contract with the municipality -- and that's exactly what they do. i.e. Richmond, if they wanted, *could* set up an RPD, but they choose rather just to contract out to the RCMP, which is already trained, staffed, etc.
Some choose to do it, and others not... that's why it's so patchwork.
The only reason I allude to size is that the largest cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, etc.) will always have their own force (both Ontario and Quebec have provincial police forces which the largest cities don't use either), just because they need a large enough force that it's worth their time to assemble one that has good knowledge of the city.
I saw this today (2/13/05) at the San Jose CameraCinemas club and Trent Carlson was present for our after film discussion (it is also being shown at the San Francisco IndieFest today). When questioned about the meters he said that Montreal was implemeting some kind of newer technology!
At first I thought it was a real documentary but as it progressed and we kept laughing as the storyline played out it became clear that it was a mockumentary. In response to another question Trent noted that he had consulted with real parking enforcement people who all loved it. He mentioned that one said something like "but couldn't you have made at least one of them look intelligent".
I usually enjoy Canadian comedy and this was no exception. It was a hit with our club.
I live in Montreal, and they have put in new technology. The meters don't read your license plate though, because there aren't really meters anymore. Each space has its own number on the block, and at the end of the block, there's one central meter. You punch in the code of your space, and then you shovel in the quarters 'cause you're only getting 10min per 25 cents.
All in all, the film was amazing. I saw it at the Just For Laughs festival and I recently purchased it. If you're into Canadian humour, check out Waydowntown; it's an outstanding film.
Actually, the City of Vancouver has it's own police force. The RCMP are in many of the surrounding communities, Richmond, White Rock etc. Delta and West van have their own cops too.
Of course it is a mockumentary! Didn't any of you recognize the little sergeant from Stargate or Hank and Wanda from Corner Gas?
I was actually fooled into believing it was a real documentary for the entire film, until I saw that the credits did not line up! Nor all the crew that was in the credits. I think part of the reason it felt so real was it was filmed in Vancouver and like most of you probably I live nearby.
sharedidnt anyone notice that wanda and hank from corner gas were two of the main charactars...
share[deleted]
The film was good fun...none too serious...and i enjoyed it more than most "Hollywood" comedies...
shareThis only appealed to me as I thought it was a documentary. What a waste of time it is as a mocumentary, its so over the top and meaningless.
Heres a suggestion, why didn't they just make a documentary? The characters would have been very similar than the actors they hired. And it would have been a hell of a lot more interesting and funny.
Are some of these posts serious? If you managed to watch the entire film without realising this was just a comedy, it shows a) how dim you are, and b) how believable the characters were. Some people just don't 'get it'. This film I think is too subtle for some people, especially those that didn't realise within the first 2 minutes this wasn't serious! I just watched it and thought it was excellent - one of the best mockumentaries I have seen. This really is a hidden gem.
share