TRIAL AND ERROR 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
3 :-( :-( :-( for a lonely, sad clown
Cast: Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels, Charlize Theron, Austin Pendleton, Jessica Steen, Rip Torn, Alexandra Wentworth Director: Jonathan Lynn Screenplay: Gregory Bernstein, Sara Bernstein, and Cliff Gardner
Needless to say crazy Kramer (Michael Richards), without smart mouth Jerry, big mouth Elaine and dumb arse George is very much like a fish out of water. Michael Richards first feature film as the male lead is a major disappointment. Probably because his character, an out of sorts actor impersonating a lawyer is not well defined or likeable. Richards cannot make up his mind about whether he still wants to be Kramer or a more regular guy, and the result is something of a half-poached egg.
Part of the problem may rest in the fact that Richard's face has become synonymous with Seinfeld's Kramer, and it is difficult to picture him otherwise. A big plus when his talented zaniness lights up the small screen, but a big minus when he attempts a role outside what we are accustomed to. Jeff Daniel's comic talent was evident opposite Jim Carey in "Dumb and Dumber", but he alone cannot make up for the three missing stooges. It's as if the ghosts of George, Jerry and Elaine are haunting the set, wishing to make an appearance, but sadly do not.
So this overdrawn tale of an actor impersonating a lawyer with a moral ending, would have fared better as a shorter, much-ado-about-nothing episode of Seinfeld. In which case we would have all four clowns of situational comedy together on screen, and that would generate more laughs than if one were sitting alone.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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