Trial and Error

Lots of A-list actors, simple story to follow with light hearted humor. Another movie showing how beautiful Charlize Theron is, fans of her will appreciate that. Michael Richards is funny as always. Jeff Daniels is very good, none of that stupid humor like in Dumb and Dumber. Austin Pendleton plays his typical character, goofy yet professional. The whole movie is very predictable but the actors that are cast keep it interesting. Recommend watching it without great expectations. So for a relaxing afternoon stick a bag of popcorn in the microwave and rent this movie for an hour and a half of a good story with entertaining acting.

Charlie Tuttle is a workaholic lawyer who just made partner at his law firm and is also engaged to his boss's daughter; his best friend Richard Rietti is an out of work actor who throws him a wild bachelor party the night before Charlie has to defend his boss's relative. When Charlie is too incapacitated to appear in court the next morning, Richard assumes his identity but gets in over his head when the case is ordered to proceed. Director Lynn, who employed a similar formula in My Cousin Vinny, avoids turning this into a strained redo thanks to the pairing of Richards and Daniels who play exceptionally well off one another, aided by a script that offers plenty of clever and very funny moments, and a surprisingly effective romantic subplot. Good casting, writing, and laughs make this more fun than it should be. ***

"My Cousin Vinny" director Jonathan Lynn returns to skewer the legal profession (and the acting profession, as well) in this tale of rising legal star Charles Tuttle (Jeff Daniels), a newly minted partner in a prestigious firm. Engaged to marry the boss' daughter (Alexandra Wentworth), he agrees to an impromptu bachelor party thrown by his actor friend Richard Rietti (Michael Richards). This results in him being badly incapacitated, and Richard actually fills in for him when a fraud case goes to trial; since the local court now believes that Richard is the attorney for the defence, he's obliged to continue with this ruse, leading to some amusing complications.

It's all about the appeal and comic abilities of this cast. Ultimately, the film is nothing special, with no real comedy fireworks, but it's still funny and engaging enough to make it pleasant throughout. It's too bad Richards, a.k.a. Cosmo Kramer, didn't get more feature film opportunities in this vein, as he's really able to strut his stuff. And he has fine chemistry with Daniels, who gets to alternate between being a "straight man", of sorts, and getting hilariously flustered as things go completely awry. Charlize Theron may be the MAIN reason to watch "Trial and Error", however, as she *is* utterly adorable as the cute & perky waitress to whom Charles becomes attracted.

They all receive very capable support from Rip Torn as the con man, Austin Pendleton (who was the stuttering temporary replacement for Vinny in "My Cousin Vinny") as the judge, a strikingly sexy Jessica Steen as the exasperated prosecutor, Lawrence Pressman as Charles' boss, Max Casella as a VERY young looking doctor, Dale Dye as a psychiatric expert, and Jennifer Coolidge as a priceless "dietary expert" of some kind.

This would make an agreeable double feature with another 1997 comedy about a lawyer, "Liar Liar", although "Trial and Error" never does get as cartoonish as that Jim Carrey vehicle.

Among the highlights: Charles having to sit in a car parked outside the courthouse (he ends up getting banned from the courtroom), beeping in Morse code the sort of dialogue that he needs Richard to deliver.

Seven out of 10.

I think it was about five years ago when I first discovered that this 1997 lawyer comedy existed. It took me this long to finally get around to seeing it, even though I've been familiar with the two stars for quite some time now. I've seen Jeff Daniels as Jim Carrey's co-star in "Dumb & Dumber", and knew the now infamous Michael Richards obviously for his role as Kramer in the popular sitcom, "Seinfeld", plus his roles in comedy films such as "UHF" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer". Since I had seen both of these actors in funny movies/TV shows, I figured I might find "Trial and Error" mildly amusing, nothing more, judging by its general reception. Expecting a mixed blessing, I didn't get any big surprises, pleasant or unpleasant.

Charles Tuttle (Daniels) is a lawyer who will soon be married. His best friend, and best man for the wedding, is an out-of-work actor named Richard Rietti (Richards). Tuttle has been called over to Paradise Bluff, Nevada to defend his fiancée's relative, Benny Gibbs, in a class action fraud suit. When he arrives in the town, Richard (or "Ricky") is there, and is ready to throw a bachelor party for his friend. After drinking and getting attacked in the bar, Charlie is not well enough to work the next day, so Ricky decides to go to the courtroom and claim to be a lawyer named Charles Tuttle! Charlie is not happy when he hears what Ricky has done, and soon finds that he now has to pose as an actor named Richard Rietti! Since the real Rietti is not trained to be a lawyer, the real Charlie pretends to be his assistant, using cue cards to tell him what to do on the job while he defends Benny. Obviously, this leads to a horrible mess!

There weren't too many times when I laughed really hard while watching this 1997 comedy, but there were many parts I found at least mildly amusing. I can't forget Ricky discovering that his sick friend in bed has emptied out his pill bottle, Ricky trying to prepare Charlie for the trial while he is ill, Charlie's reaction when he learns what Ricky has done, and many things the main characters go through while they pose as each other. Michael Richards and Jeff Daniels are a good pair in the lead roles, which might be the main reason why this film is funny. Richards, with his over-the-top antics, playing a character with good intentions who keeps lousing up, and Daniels, with some of the faces he makes and his character's reactions to Ricky's doings. Unfortunately, the plot isn't too interesting, and if the film were hilarious, that wouldn't matter, but it's not funny enough to prevent the movie from being a little dull. Also, the romance wasn't done so well, eventually getting a little sappy, and the ending leaves much to be desired.

This movie came out the same year as "Liar Liar", another lawyer comedy. That film is definitely the more popular of the two, but I have to be honest, I prefer this one, as crazy as many people might think I am for that. While Jim Carrey has made me laugh in other films, I found that his antics went too far in that one. Richards and Daniels, while not usually hilarious in the film, are still pretty funny. I'm sure we all know about Richards' racist tirade in November 2006, which obviously permanently damaged his reputation and started a never ending debate over whether he really meant what he said and whether his apology was honest or not. It clearly had more impact than Mel Gibson's tirade earlier that year, and the main reason for that was probably because Richards was caught on video. I remember feeling like I could never watch anything with Richards in it again after I first heard about the incident and saw the footage, but now, regardless of his reputation and what may go on in his head, I have to admit, he can still make me laugh in the comedies I see him in. If you like the two co-stars in "Trial and Error" as comedians, then this flick could easily make you laugh, or at least some parts could.

We spend so much time as movie enthusiasts that we often only look for films people would consider revolutionary (e.g. Donnie Darko, Fight Club, etc.) but every once in awhile a noraml run of the mill comedy is nice. Trial and Error, however, had some of the most ridiculously funny scenes I have ever seen Micheal Richards in - his audtion near the beginning, his cross examination of 'Buck.' These scenes a lone are enough reason to see the movie. All said and done, Micheal Richards kills it in this movie... Some people have said that he still is trying to play off his role of Kramer but what we must understand is that regardless the role Micheal Richards constantly brings his own personality to the characters he plays and I wouldn't have it any other way. See it. Twice.