Trial and Error (1997)

Michael Richards was always great as Kramer in Seinfeld.Here he stars in predictable but quite enjoyable farce.He doesn't always appear comfortable in a starring role but has able support here from the ever-reliable Jeff Daniels.The movie itself is rather predictable but is a capable good-natured comedy.It plays much better as a video or a movie on TV than a film that you would pay for and wait in line to see at a cinema.

Fmovies: I've always been a fan of Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels and who doesn't love Charlize Theron? I couldn't dare say this movie anywhere near the top 10 funniest movies I've ever seen, but it's got some really good stuff in it. If you're a fan of Charlize Theron like I am, than you really don't need to know anything else other than the fact that she is in the film.

The only real complaint I have about the movie is the way that Jeff Daniels gets detained from court in the first place. I thought they could have come up with a better way of getting Michael Richards in the court room than having Jeff Daniels get in a bar fight and then taking too much medicine to go to court the next day.

Anyhow, if you have the time and like the actors in the film, then go ahead and see it, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see it. Thanks for reading.

-Chris

This is an interesting and hilariously funny movie! A lawyer about to get married is incapacitated after a bachelor party just prior to a court appearance on a routine case where he represents the defendant. His buddy, an unemployed actor, takes his place at the trial for what is supposed to be a 5 minute appearance. The attractive female prosecutor wants to move on with the case, and the substitute lawyer is committed to participate in the trial. The recovering real lawyer meets a cute waitress and enjoys her company on his day off, only later to find that his friend's errors in court force a continued role as his doppelganger. The courtroom scenes are are absolutely hilarious, as are the off-courtroom romantic entanglements of both friends. Don't miss this movie! It's the kind you will enjoy seeing over and over again.

Trial and Error fmovies. 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. ***

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 tir

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.