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DVD
Parking Wars - Best of Season 1
$1.73

About this product:
"People don't like me 'cuz I write a lot of tickets," says a meter maid on the beat in episode three of Parking Wars, a series revolving around three departments comprising the Philadelphia Parking Authority. On this Best of Season One disc, we meet various PPA employees from the impound lot, the booting and towing division, and the ticketers describing to the camera how difficult it is for them to "do their jobs" while citizens curse and insult them. Meant as a comedic reality show, Parking Wars is funny at times when, for example in episode five, two ladies from Florida flirt with the impound lot cashier then turn against him when he refuses to give in. Like the Jerry Springer Show, Parking Wars is cast with real characters who seem oblivious to the workings of daily life. But ultimately, aggravation rather than sympathy may arise for Sherry in the booting department, Martin, the tow-truck driver, or Maria an impound lot officer as they justify perpetuating a bureaucracy that most urban citizens find mandarin and corrupt. The show's trope, to illustrate how furious average commuters get with these PPA employees, gets old quickly. Over the course of several episodes, one feels the strain that these employees endure. Though it is marginally interesting to learn the labels applied to law-breakers by the PPA, such as those "heavy hitters" who get towed instead of booted once they owe over $700, it is mostly irritating to see people getting city paychecks to sneak around issuing tickets. It seems an odd premise to make a television show highlighting what many people find extremely annoying. --Trinie Dalton

DVD
Delicate Art of Parking
$44.99

About this product:
This no-budget gem relies on what director/writers rely on when they've got no money: wit, originality, and intelligence.

The film, actually a comedic mystery/drama, uses the mock-documentary format as its framework. Characters are introduced and created with a few quick, deft strokes, with wonderful performances by all (especially a cadre of misfit parking enforcement officers). You really come to care about this odd, self-important little group of oddballs. Eventually they emerge as more interesting, complex and principled than the condescending "film-maker" who initially sets out to mock them in his documentary, but gets drawn into investigating what may or may not turn out to be a peculiar conspiracy involving a mysterious parking-enforcement guru.

Great fun, very deftly done, and a triumph of imagination and wit over big budgets.

DVD
Expired
$5.16

About this product:
Studio: Asylum Home Entertainment Release Date: 11/17/2009 Run time: 107 minutes