TRIAL AND ERROR
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1997 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
It's hard to disassociate Michael Richards from Kramer, the role (for those of you who've been in a plastic bubble this past decade) he plays on TV's "Seinfeld." Richards has defined Kramer's personality--every slap happy, pratfalling, wildly gesticulating character trait--so completely that his recent forays into big screen roles have smacked of Kramer, albeit on varying doses of medication.
Wise-acre critics have already dubbed Richards' latest movie "My Cousin Kramer," as the film is directed by Jonathan Lynn, whose previous courtroom comedy "My Cousin Vinny" made Marisa Tomei a star. However, "Trial and Error" has a lot more going for it than just Richards' typically ebullient performance.
Richards plays Ricky Rietti, an unemployed actor who throws his best friend, attorney Charles Tuttle (Jeff Daniels), a humdinger of a bachelor party the night before Charlie's career-making court case. With Charlie incapable of showing up for work the next day, Ricky steps in, using his improvisational skills to try to establish a defense. In a cut-and-dried case of fraud (Rip Torn's Benny Gibbs is accused of selling pennies as "copper engravings of Abraham Lincoln" for $17.99), all Ricky needs to do is get a continuance. Instead, he makes matters worse.
Austin Pendleton, as Judge Graff, presides over Ricky's ad-libbed antics and neatly depicts the deterioration of a confident authority figure to a blubbering imbicile over the course of the trial.
Daniels is wonderful at playing straight man to the likable Richards, and gets a good number of laughs himself. Positioning himself as Ricky's assistant, Charlie attempts to guide Ricky through the legal proceedings, with whispered directions, cue cards, even a nursery monitor (after he's finally removed from the courtroom babbling demands for a recess).
In a sweetly-handled subplot, Charlie courts a hotel waitress, Billie (the fetching Charlize Theron). Their blossoming relationship is played out against a spectacular Nevada backdrop of snow-capped mountains and bright blue skies.
"Trial and Error" is a nicely balanced blend of zany comedy and touching romance.
With "Seinfeld"'s Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander currently making the movie circuit with roles in "Father's Day" and "Love! Valour! Compassion!" respectively, Richards' central performance in "Trial and Error" further underlines that show's prime time popularity. (What next? Jerry starring in a Hollywood version of "Sunday in the Park with George"?) If you're a dyed-in-the-wool Kramer fan, then "Trial and Error" is likely to appeal to your sense of slapstick. If you're not, it's a lot of fun anyway.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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