Trial and Error (1997)

An actor poses as a lawyer to help his sick friend, and problems develop.

Director:

Jonathan Lynn

Writers:

Sara Bernstein (story), Gregory Bernstein (story),

Stars:

Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels, Charlize Theron

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Richards	...	Richard Rietti
Jeff Daniels	...	Charles Tuttle
Charlize Theron	...	Billie Tyler
Jessica Steen	...	Elizabeth
Austin Pendleton	...	Judge Paul Z. Graff
Rip Torn	...	Benny Gibbs
Alexandra Wentworth	...	Tiffany
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Jacqueline
Lawrence Pressman	...	Whitfield
Dale Dye	...	Dr. Stone
Max Casella	...	Dr. Brown
McNally Sagal	...	Charles' Assistant
Kenneth White	...	Hank Crabbit
Keith Mills	...	Buck Norman
Zaid Farid	...	Bailiff

Storyline

Lawyer Charlie Tuttle is defending his wife's relative Benny Gibbs in a class action fraud suit, but when he gets to the city where court takes place, he gets drunk and the following day, when the hearings begin, his friend, actor Richard Rjetti takes his place posing as Charlie. The bad thing is that Richard doesn't know anything about being a lawyer, and Charlie has to teach him as the court goes on.

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Plot Keywords:

court | gambling | deception | con man | law | 

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Taglines:

An experienced lawyer and an out-of-work actor giving justice a run for its money

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Advogado por Engano

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,903,529 (USA) (30 May 1997)

Gross:

$13,548,764 (USA) (25 July 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larger Than Life Productions, New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Tilly was originally cast as Billie Tyler.

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Quotes

Charles Tuttle: My kindergarten teacher. I was four. She said I was too advanced for my class, and so they skipped a grade. I didn't want to be skipped, but everybody acted like I was so special. Then pretty soon I working even harder to get skipped all over again. And that, my friend, is how you end up in the junkyard.

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Crazy Credits

Sound technician Brian McPherson is credited as "hothead technician."

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Soundtracks

"Pleasin' You"
Written by Anders Osborne
Performed by Anders Osborne
Courtesy of Okeh/Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

charm,

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.