En toute justice

Mmm, I liked it… quite a bit. Bob Clark writes/directs this comedy courtroom drama with many screwball antics but also well managed serious elements. Having it sit in both camps could've been disastrous, but while it isn't always 100% in convening them together. I found it hard not be gripped, and trying to wipe the grin of my face. However it's a glowingly clever little concept (falling in two parts), which is brought across by Judd Nelson's bouncy performance. He plays Robin Weathers a young, brash Boston lawyer that goes about things in a very unconventional manner, but these questionable methods gets the results. Embarrassment for his firm, but everyone else loves it. So after his first big win, he joins the firm's partnership and then finds himself dumped with a murder case which he has no hope of winning. This was purposely done, so his partners could get rid of him.

The smart-lipped script is very agreeable with the smooth flowing pace and playful score adding to the amusing diversions. The comical interplay is quite heavy with ballistic energy in the early stages as the courtroom is a show-stopping circus of noisy gags (which has great snappy performance from Ray Walston as the judge of the courtroom), but when it gets to the main case that's when those dramatic aspects mingle in (like its stinging if transparent climax), but never leaving the theatrically colorful zinger and humour behind. Clark makes it work, as it's never over-cooked and has a purpose to steering the action and situations. John Hurt is amazing as the intensely cocky defendant that Nelson's character must try to acquit. There's fine support from the likes of Darren McGavin, Dan Monahan, David Alan Grier, Nancy Marchand and undoubtedly lovable Elizabeth Perkins (whose beautiful smile simply lights up a room).

A novel crowd-pleaser that's always thinking on its feet.

Quite simply I love this movie, not because I have an affinity to any of the actors but simply because it's a very easy way to pass a couple of hours.

For movie which attempts to broach one of the legal systems greatest dilemmas (how to defend the guilty) the screenwriters and director somehow manage to deal with the issue seriously yet without allowing the movie to become heavy and dry.

You will laugh as there are many genuinely funny scenes and yet you will also appreciate the very real and serious ethical dilemma "stormy" finds himself in.

John Hurt does steal the show somewhat with a performance that is nothing short of chilling, but the movie is not just about John and the supporting cast are pretty good as well. Criticism of Judd Nelson for this role is certainly unwarranted.

If you want a nice easy watch, which you can chose to just enjoy or to actually have a proper think about then this is a very good place to start.

Do yourself a favour find the movie in a bargain bin, watch it and wonder why you never bothered to see it before

Tonal shifts, murder by hammer (not shown), Judd Nelson's hair, and yes, even a vibrator.

What I've just described to you sounds like a misheard phone conversation. It's not. What it is, is a list of ingredients in this movie. From the Hip is a movie that has all those things and is still somehow watchable. Stranger too, it's entertaining.

From the Hip should never work. And it doesn't. Not for a second. But it's fun and it holds your attention until you forget just how preposterous and unrealistic it all is.

It's a legal dramedy. Yes, it really does combine three genres, and you know what? There's even a little thriller in there. The movie doesn't exactly merge genres, but rather, it switches from one to the other at certain times. It starts out as a screwball comedy, moves into a heavy legal drama, and by the third act, it enters gripping legal thriller territory. Yes, the tonal shifts are that jarring, but somehow give the movie charm. It's as if the screenwriter forgot the earlier parts while writing the later parts, and once he put it together, realized he had no time to make them fit better. But it is fun.

Judd Nelson and John Hurt are great in this movie, and Judd Nelson gives probably the most likable performance of his career. Unlike the tool he played in Breakfast Club (1985), you actually want to root for his character here.

While it's totally unbelievable and unrealistic, it's pretty fun and entertaining, and if you weren't super into the over-the-top comedy in the beginning, it gets better, so don't worry. It's like if Hudson Hawk, gentleman et cambrioleur (1991) became a completely serious movie halfway through. It even maintains the seriousness right up until the climax, which seems very derivative of many other legal thrillers until you realize that this movie preceded them all. Check it out. It's worth at least one watch, and it's just a nice movie to be able to say you saw.

I still see Judd Nelson in high-school on detention. It wasnt made long after BREAKFAST CLUB, but this movie is pretty good. The first half is a comedy, but the second half is a very serious murder trial with a great performance from John Hurt. I can't help but think that Anthony Hopkins watched this movie and got his HANNIBAL characteristics from Hurt's sophisticated performance here....

I give this movie an 8 just for Hurt's performance alone. The rest of the movie would garner a 6+ for its 'low budget' supporting cast. Though, Nelson is charming...

Once again we are reminded of the waste of a fantastic actor, and question why it was that Judd Nelson faded so quickly into TV limbo-land. In 'From the Hip' he might as well be playing John Bender, 5 years on from his Saturday morning detention in 'The Breakfast Club'. All the Bender traits are there - the showcasing, the cunning, the witty comments, and the lovable rogue charm. An excellent supporting cast keep the pace going, with John Hurt turning in one of his finest performances. The only problem I had with this movie is that it doesn't know whether it wants to be a comedy or a grizzly murder mystery. Despite that, it is a shame that this is one of those movies that not a great deal of people even know exists. I do admit I'm a big Judd Nelson fan (only please don't ever mention 'Blindfold - Acts of Obsession'!) so maybe I'm biased regarding the quality of this film, although I think there is something here that will appeal to everybody, right down to an obligatory romance (though i found it strange that although Robin's girlfriend tells him she loves him on 4 separate occasions, never once does he utter the words back to her).Know what? I should really get out more! EXCELSIOR.