"The defense rests!!!  The defense rests!!!  The defense rests!!!"      

TRIAL AND ERROR (PG-13) 

Charlie Tuttle (Jeff Daniels) and Richard Rietti (Seinfeld's Michael Richards) are best friends.  Charlie just became a partner at his lawfirm, and is about to marry the boss' daughter.  Richard is an out-of-work actor who's determined to throw Charlie a wild, old fashioned bachelor's party.  When Charlie unexpectedly gets sent to a small Nevada town to handle a fraud case, Richard (and the bachelor's party) follows.  Several drinks and a barfight later, Charlie is...well...out of it.  Barely conscious and pitifully incoherent, it becomes obvious that Charlie will not be able to represent his client in court the next morning.  What to do?  Simple!  Richard, the actor and ever helpful friend, decides to take Charlie's place...in court.

Directed by Jonathan Lynn of My Cousin Vinny fame, Trial and Error is a light-hearted and generally pleasant courtroom comedy that does have its moments.  Michael Richards doesn't stray far from his "Kramer" character on Seinfeld, but somehow manages to work well with Daniels' straight laced lawyer character.  Charlize Theron also shines as the small-town waitress who steals Charlie's heart. 

Unfortunately, the courtroom scenes in this film never get quite as good as what we saw in My Cousin Vinny, though there are enough laughs here to keep things moving.  As it turns out, the romance between Charlie and Billie (Theron) plays much better, thanks mostly to Theron's ultra-sweet performance.  Overall, Trial and Error is not a bad film for a few laughs and a little romance; the characters are generally likeable and the tone is relatively light.  Worth seeing if you're in that kind of mood...

The defense rests?  Nope, not until the courtroom turns into a circus... :-)

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

David Rogers gives this movie  stars: "Funny but slow." (5/6/00)