Trial and Error (1997): Dir: Jonathan Lynn / Cast: Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels, Charlize Theron, Rip Torn, Jessica Steen: Recycled comedy about personal conviction. Michael Richards plays a struggling actor who plans a bachelor party for his brother, played by Jeff Daniels. Daniels represents a fraud case but during a fight at a bar he is clobbered and takes all of his prescription pills. As predicted Richards will take his brother's place in court. Directed by Jonathan Lynn who made Sgt. Bilko the previous year. The two leads render this formula comedy beyond what it might have been without them. Richards recites his famous role on Seinfeld where his nightclub act must double as a lawyer when he is faced with doubling as his brother. Daniels does well as the real lawyer nursing a bar fight headache. He uses cue cards in his attempt to assist his brother in doing his job. He is also being cared for by a waitress whom he obviously will take a shine to. Charlize Theron plays the waitress and the role is as deadpan as it sounds. Rip Torn steals moments as the obviously guilty man on trial whom Richards uses slick thinking to expose. Jessica Steen plays a lawyer who ends up as a predictable romantic interest. The film exists mainly as a stage for Richards for his starring debut but despite its overly sitcom delivery, it will hopefully lead to better things for the comic. Score: 3 ½ / 10

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 tirade earlier that year, and the main reason for that was probably because Richards was caught on video. I remember feeling like I could never watch anything with Richards in it again after I first heard about the incident and saw the footage, but now, regardless of his reputation and what may go on in his head, I have to admit, he can still make me laugh in the comedies I see him in. If you like the two co-stars in "Trial and Error" as comedians, then this flick could easily make you laugh, or at least some parts could.

For what was likely conceived as a PG-13 B-movie comedy, this film has some awfully strange sequences that stayed with me long after seeing it as part of a double bill. They're just out of place in a movie of this sort. Watch the scene where the main characters go to the junkyard to shoot at toilets--they *really* get into the destruction. And the camera shoots the violence as a really vivid thing. It's the sort of slick shoot-em-up filming that's par for the course for Tarantino but is just so discordant in a comedy. Also, watch the scene where one main character punches out the other--there's just *way too much blood* as a result. If you see *any* blood resulting from a PG-13 punch, it's a trickle; in this movie it's a gusher. It's just so odd! This was not a bad movie--but I'm just ooked out by these occasional flashes of uncommonality.