Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- None
- witty
- breezy
- chaotic
- lazy sunday
- light date night
What critics said
Critics found the mismatched leads’ comic chemistry pleasantly effective, but considered the courtroom farce less memorable and derivative of My Cousin Vinny.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Richard Rietti must impersonate lawyer Charles Tuttle while learning courtroom procedure during an active fraud trial.
The actor Richard poses as Charlie and receives hurried legal coaching as hearings proceed.
The nervous lawyer Charlie and improvisational actor Richard must cooperate despite radically different temperaments and skills.
Charlie’s marital and romantic complications intersect with Richard’s impersonation and the courtroom crisis.
Films like Trial and Error, and why
My Cousin Vinny
courtroom screwball comedy built around an unlikely substitute lawyer and mismatched comic leads
Tootsie
romantic comedy with fish-out-of-water performance, mistaken identity, and breezy comic chemistry
The Fortune Cookie
understated screwball comedy pairing a chaotic protagonist with escalating professional complications
Movie Details
- Director
- Jonathan Lynn
- Release Date
- 1997-05-30
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 5.4 / 10 (93)
Cast
- Michael Richards
- Jeff Daniels
- Charlize Theron
- Jessica Steen
- Austin Pendleton
- Rip Torn
- Ali Wentworth
- Jennifer Coolidge
- Lawrence Pressman
- Dale Dye
Common questions
- What is Trial and Error about?
- A hungover attorney recruits his actor friend to impersonate him in court, turning a fraud trial into a frantic test of friendship, romance, and improvisation.
- What is Trial and Error like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Trial and Error as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Trial and Error violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Trial and Error.
- What did critics think of Trial and Error?
- Critics found the mismatched leads’ comic chemistry pleasantly effective, but considered the courtroom farce less memorable and derivative of My Cousin Vinny.
- Which films are like Trial and Error?
- Films with a similar feel include My Cousin Vinny, Tootsie, and The Fortune Cookie.
- How long is Trial and Error?
- Trial and Error runs 98 minutes.
