TRIAL AND ERROR
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1997 Michael John Legeros
(New Line) Directed by Jonathan Lynn Written by Gregory Bernstein, Sara Bernstein, and Cliff Gardner Cast Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels, Charlize Theron, Austin Pendleton, Jessica Steen, Rip Torn MPAA Rating "PG-13" Running Time 106 minutes Reviewed at Six Forks Station Cinemas, Raleigh, NC (31MAY97)
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TRIAL AND ERROR is a clumsy reworking of MY COUSIN VINNY, with director Jonathan Lynn staging another small-town trial with another exasperated judge presiding over yet another courtroomful of colorful personalities. In this case, its Michael Richards out-of-work actor impersonating his best-friend lawyer (Jeff Daniel), after a bachelor party for the latter leaves him incapacitated. Despite the Kramer-ish antics of Mr. Richards, some fresh flustering by VINNY veteran Austin Pendleton (as the judge), and one howler of a testimony from Rip Torn (as the defendant), the courtroom shenanigans end up only intermittenly funny. Far more interesting is the romance that develops between Daniels' character and a waitress (played by a glowing Charleze Theron) and a late line of thought that asks each character to examine how the issue of truth affects them.
Grade: C+
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Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell/
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