Appealing 'Trial and Error'

Michael Richards has become inextricably linked with Kramer, the live-wire, pratfalling neighbor he plays on the TV show, "Seinfeld." For Kramer fans, the actor’s appearance in any film is enough to start the anticipatory juices flowing. Any minute, you figure (and hope), he’s going to do something unexpectedly spazzy. As his performance in "Trial and Error" shows, Richards seems only too willing to rise (or stumble) to the occasion.

In the movie, Richards plays Richard Rietti, an out-of-work actor who’s pals with Charles Tuttle (Jeff Daniels), a high-profile Manhattan lawyer. But let’s face it, he’s Kramer.

When Charles asks Richard to be best man at his upcoming wedding, the actor makes arrangements for a bachelor party. But a fast-breaking court case takes Charles to Paradise Bluff, Nev., and the bash is canceled.

Determined to give his pal some kind of send-off, Richard follows the lawyer to Nevada, with three actor-friends in tow. They take Charles to a local bar and get him smashed. The reveries are so effective Charles becomes too incapacitated to make the next day’s court appearance.

Richard decides to "be" Charles for a day. After all, all he has to do is utter one sentence—a request for continuance—and walk away. But when the judge (Austin Pendleton) denies the motion, Richard—who cannot admit he’s a fake—is forced to continue the case and represent an incredibly sleazy client (Rip Torn).

Scriptwriters Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein and Cliff Gardner have constructed a predictable scheme: Both men need to find themselves (and the women of their dreams) by, essentially, switching roles. But the writers, director Jonathan ("My Cousin Vinny") Lynn and both performers brighten up the proceedings whenever possible.

Ever since "Something Wild," Daniels has perfected his gift for looking increasingly beaten down. He’s a perfect foil for Richards’s wilder shenanigans. Although the Kramer factor never reaches blissful levels, Richards has his moments. The best is when he performs his favorite audition piece, a scene from a mobster film, in which he mimes being dragged away by his elbows, rammed up against a wall, then kicked mercilessly until he ends up in a crumpled heap. It reduces the producers and directors watching his audition to stunned silence. But of course, we’re doubled over with laughter.

TRIAL AND ERROR (PG-13) — Contains mild sexual situations.