A mockumentary that's badly plotted, illogical, mean-spirited and unfunny. But, hey, other than that ...
Writer: Kelly Parks
Directors: Kelly Parks, Vernon Mortensen
Starring: Colin Cunningham, Ron Choularton, Matt Bradford, Annemarie Pazmino
8 episodes, run time approx. 42 minutes
Directors: Kelly Parks, Vernon Mortensen
Starring: Colin Cunningham, Ron Choularton, Matt Bradford, Annemarie Pazmino
8 episodes, run time approx. 42 minutes
In The Crusader, a snooty British documentary filmmaker captures the downward spiral of a broken-down guy whose only respite from a crumbling marriage is a quixotic quest to rid the world of the pestilence that is people taking up two parking spaces with their cars. It's a mockumentary that is occasionally funny, but not nearly enough.
British filmmaker Jonathan Ashton III stumbled onto Paul while completing a prior documentary, "America: What Else Is Wrong With It, Then?" That's a great title, and suggests that Ashton might be some kind of witty bastard. But that's only half right. Ashton isn't really very witty, but he is a bastard. Paul is sad and pathetic, but Ashton bullies him so much that you have to root for Paul no matter how pathetic he is.
But where the show really gets lost is in Ashton's quest to discover the cause of Paul's obsession. It turns out that Paul's breakdown - there had been a time when he held a regular job instead of spending all his days patrolling a parking lot - came after his wife started up her own porno site, FistingDenise.com. But it's never at all clear what that had to do with Paul taking up this specific calling. There's no obvious link between his wife having sex with other men on camera and Paul becoming obsessed with people taking up two parking spaces, and even less of a link as to why Paul chose one particular parking lot several miles from his home. It's clear why Paul may have become obsessed with something; it's just never clear why he became obsessed with this thing. In neglecting to give viewers any rationalization, Ashton doesn't tell a good story - and neither does The Crusader.
The whole storyline about Paul and Denise's relationship so consumes the series that Paul's parking lot crusade is totally ignored in the last two episodes of the series. The final scene of the series lingers on the question of whether Paul can forgive Denise, with no reference to whether Paul would give up on or continue his parking lot crusade if he does. And that's too bad, seeing as it's, you know, what the show's about. The premise of "man becomes obsessed with stopping people from taking up two parking spaces" is far more interesting and unique than "man whose wife cheated on him." So not only does The Crusader lose focus, but it loses focus to shift to a definitively weaker storyline.
British filmmaker Jonathan Ashton III stumbled onto Paul while completing a prior documentary, "America: What Else Is Wrong With It, Then?" That's a great title, and suggests that Ashton might be some kind of witty bastard. But that's only half right. Ashton isn't really very witty, but he is a bastard. Paul is sad and pathetic, but Ashton bullies him so much that you have to root for Paul no matter how pathetic he is.
But where the show really gets lost is in Ashton's quest to discover the cause of Paul's obsession. It turns out that Paul's breakdown - there had been a time when he held a regular job instead of spending all his days patrolling a parking lot - came after his wife started up her own porno site, FistingDenise.com. But it's never at all clear what that had to do with Paul taking up this specific calling. There's no obvious link between his wife having sex with other men on camera and Paul becoming obsessed with people taking up two parking spaces, and even less of a link as to why Paul chose one particular parking lot several miles from his home. It's clear why Paul may have become obsessed with something; it's just never clear why he became obsessed with this thing. In neglecting to give viewers any rationalization, Ashton doesn't tell a good story - and neither does The Crusader.
The whole storyline about Paul and Denise's relationship so consumes the series that Paul's parking lot crusade is totally ignored in the last two episodes of the series. The final scene of the series lingers on the question of whether Paul can forgive Denise, with no reference to whether Paul would give up on or continue his parking lot crusade if he does. And that's too bad, seeing as it's, you know, what the show's about. The premise of "man becomes obsessed with stopping people from taking up two parking spaces" is far more interesting and unique than "man whose wife cheated on him." So not only does The Crusader lose focus, but it loses focus to shift to a definitively weaker storyline.
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