As a cinematic enthusiast, it’s not always easy to admit that there are movies that are considered “classic” that you still haven’t seen. After all, haven’t most history buffs been to Gettysburg? Haven’t most Red Sox fans seen a game in Fenway Park? Haven’t most art nuts been to the Metropolitan Museum? I realize that there are still a handful of iconic movies that I still haven’t gotten around to renting from Blockbuster ( i.e. Animal House, Citizen Kane, The Birds), and I am constantly trying to remedy that. In an effort of doing so, I finally got around to seeing A Few Good Men, an intensity-charged courtroom drama starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, circa 1992. After seeing the movie, I was questioning myself as to why I never saw it sooner. If you can manage to shelf the cheesy late 80’s background music and Kiefer Sutherlands god awful crew cut (which were both hard for me to stomach at first), you’ll be in for a real treat. I realize I’m probably the only shmuck that hadn’t seen this movie until recently, and thus I won’t bore you with a blow-by-blow plot summary. If there happen to be any shmucks left, Wikipedia does a pretty good job summing it up-
The movie earned Jack Nicholson a much deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination, as well as nominations for Best Picture and Best Screenplay.
The legal drama has always been one of my favorite genres, and this flick is arguably the most famous of that genre. Maybe their appeal to me is in part because of my lawyer dad; maybe it’s because being a courtroom lawyer is in of itself, partially being a convincing actor; or maybe I’m just a sucker for a good “Objection!” In any case, here is a list of some of my favorite legal dramas. Check em’ out yall!
I've got to see the last three in your list. "My Cousin Vinny" is actually one of the legal films most highly regarded by trial lawyers, because Vinny's cross- and direct examinations are, when the silliness is removed, almost textbook examples of how to do them effectively. I liked "A Few Good Men" but thought it was way more about the military in general, and the Marines in particular, than the law--although that part was good, too. Nicholson has the be the slimiest career bad guy in movie history. We can rent this one when your're home!
ReplyDelete