Trial and Error

"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.

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.

I found this movie to be most entertaining, with all the cast giving excellent performances. I'm not one to criticise or analyse, but tend to view a film as a whole. The courtroom scenes were infomative(as to procedure)as well as amusing, and the romantic interest was endearing. Especially enchanting was Charlize Theron, as waitress Billie Tyler, as she was cheerful, kindly, and even brave (when she thought she had lost her boyfriend to a rival). Yet it was she who innocently caused the whole problem - by serving her own alcoholic cocktail!

I'm putting this movie among my favourites.

This one had all ingredients for a great comedic recipe. It surprises me that it didn't recieve more attention.

A great view of how something seemingly simple can quickly become absurd. All through this movie were characters of stark contrasts. What ensues is a complete loss of control of a simple thing and the way in which the different characters handle it.

The irony of the whole thing is that the harder the serious ones tried to control the situation, the more out of control the thing got.

The real brilliance though, lies in Richards' character, Richard Rietti. Playing as an actor, he approaches life as one big play, and the lawyer as yet another role. All the world's a stage. I think this movie points this out for us. In the end, we can only laugh at man's attempt to establish order, whether in the courtroom, or in life, in the face of chaos.

This film illustrates that appearances can be deceiving. Each of the main characters is playing a role that is somehow contrary to that person's real identity. In the case of the Rip Torn character, who is on trial for fraud, the deception is obvious, despite his ludicrous attempt to justify his fraudulent actions. And it is equally obvious in the case of the Michael Richards character, who is pretending to be a lawyer to help out his friend. But the other characters also are revealed to be different than who they appear to be.

This is a wonderful movie, which raises important questions about the veneer most of us use to hide our real selves. Like most good comedians (e.g., Robin Williams, Steve Martin), Michael Richards is also a fine actor, and his closing argument in the case is an especially masterful piece of acting.