JNL

Movie Review: Trial and Error

This content of this post originally appeared in the “JNL” section of the Janesville Gazette.

Michael Richards and Jeff Daniels team up in the movie dubbed “the second most outrageous trial of the century.”

Richards, better known as Kramer on “Seinfeld,” and Daniels are an actor-lawyer combo that will cause you to split your sides laughing. Daniels plays Charlie Tuttle, a lawyer who graduated from Yale University. His best friend, Richard Rietti (Richards), is an actor and the best man for his upcoming wedding. Rietti is not too bright, but he has a talent for creating the illusion of something that is not there. When he tried out for a part, he plays a small scene of a man getting thrown against the wall, and it looks like there is someone throwing and beating him.

Early on in the movie, Charlie gets a call from his boss, telling him he should go to Nevada to defend Benny Gibbs (Rip Torn), a man guilty of selling pennies through the mail for .95 each, claiming they were copper engravings of our 16th president. Tuttle is supposed to ask for a continuance; Rietti ends up filling in for him. The judge denies the continuance, forcing Rietti to continue to act as a lawyer, causing the hilarious scenes that follow.

The combination of Richards, someone who uses his entire body to make something humorous, and Daniels, a somewhat serious actor, is what makes this movie a must-see. It’s more like a PG movie than PG-13, I think. It’s a movie the whole family could enjoy together.

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