Jury Duty

Tommy still lives with his parents in a trailer park. He's trying to improve himself, but his parents aren't really pushing him. Though Tommy's father has a dream: collect styrofoam, no matter how dirty, from all the dumpsters and landfills he and Tommy can find, clean it, and recycle it. Oh, yeah, that's the way to live.

One possible job for Tommy: a stripper at the club where his Uncle Sal works. Sal gives him a chance because he's family, but he just hasn't got the talent. Or the body.

Then comes the terrible news: Tommy's parents are finally going to get married. In Las Vegas. But where will he live until they return? The couple who will take care of him are even worse than being homeless.

But wait! That notice Tommy got in the mail about being called for jury duty. He can make a little money doing that, if it's a long trial. And he has to make sure to get a case where he gets sequestered. And, oh yeah, in nearly all situations like this ... do I really have to say what's going to happen?

And the defendant is an accused serial killer who one can't possibly like, with an incompetent lawyer.

One more detail: Although he ends up in a suite with the principal who expelled him from high school and still hates him--and keeps him up all night listening to motivational tapes--Tommy manages to con the hotel into giving him the best accommodations he can ask for!

How have I never seen this? I love Pauly Shore movies. Actually, Shore didn't have quite the edge that I'm used to in this one. He had some great moments when he was trying to make sure he didn't get on the wrong kind of jury, and toward the end he really does a good job, considering he's Pauly Shore.

I was concerned at one point, but the last 20 minutes or so make this movie really worth seeing. Sure, the writers have no concept of what would be legally permissible, and the number of offenses by jurors and other participants that could have resulted in a mistrial or contempt charges would fill a filing cabinet. But it's all entertaining. Eventually.

Tia Carrere is really pretty and she has some good scenes. But it's hard to believe from his performance here that Abe Vigoda was ever part of such a respected show as "Barney Miller".

You pretty much have to like Adam Sandler and Pauly Shore to like a movie of this type.

This is one of the worst movies I think I've ever seen in my life. Who on earth spent money on this piece of junk. Whoever they are I am sure they are regretting it. I am not a Pauly Shore basher, I really liked Son In Law, but this movie is worthless. Do not see it, I'd say burn it and put it out of its misery.

I think that Jury Duty was stupid but very funny. Pauly Shore is funny because he exists. There's room for anyone in comedy and he proves this point. I'm not sure if this movie damages brain cells, but I watched this movie alone and laughed my ass off. A little tasteless at times. I wonder if Pauly Shore wrote any of it. Andrew Dice Clay made an appearence, I think he's a good actor, very funny. Tia Carrere is a good actress also. It's a true comedy if you think about it, stupid, funny, there's only one part of the film that I didn't find funny. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Pauly Shore's mother runs the comedy circuit, so that's pretty funny in itself. Did he get on the big screen just by talent. You be the judge:)

Jury Duty (1995)

BOMB (out of 4)

Pauly Shore plays Tommy Collins, a spoiled brat of a human who can't keep a job down. He lives with his mom (Shelley Winters) and thinks he's gotten the "job" of a lifetime when he's offered jury duty, which will provide him free room and bored as well as some fun.

When you look back at the 1990's it seems that there were several comedies making some really awful movies. To most people Shore was the most boring and obnoxious of the group of comedies but I honestly enjoyed his act. I loved him in ENCINO MAN as well as SON IN LAW, which allowed him to have the lead spot but after that things started to go rather bad and JURY DUTY is the prime example.

I don't know the production history of this movie but at the time the O.J. Simpson case was in the headlines and there's even a joke about it in the film. I'm going to guess that this movie was put into production to try and cash-in on that craze but this is without question one of the worst comedies of the decade.

It honestly seems like the screenplay was never finished and they just let Shore loose in a courtroom to be his obnoxious self. Again, I think Shore is funny but it's clear that he has nothing to work with here and you get non-stop annoying jokes that make you want to turn the movie off. It's just not funny and the film just grows more and more aggrevating as it moves along. It's really too bad that more wasn't done with it and especially since there is a nice supporting cast.

I first saw this movie when I was in grade school, so naturally I wasn't too critical. It's a silly comedy and I got a few laughs at the time. I also didn't see what people hated about Pauly Shore. When you're 11 years old, you don't find a dude like that obnoxious. Now...he pretty much annoys the crap out of me.

I'm not jumping onto the bandwagon of Pauly Shore-haters. As a matter of fact, I recall very few comic actors who hardly retain an ounce of merit. The thing that's jarring about Shore is he tries hard to hammer a laugh out of his audience, but he does it in such a dull, low-key manner. If you're gonna be obnoxious, flaunt your obnoxiousness. Obnoxious can be funny. Just look at Vince Vaughn's portrayal of Trent in "Swingers." Shore is like that class clown who tries hard to annoy everyone in sight, yet at the same time tries hard to be liked. If Shore had charm, that might be possible. A guard dog has more charm than him.

The cast is pretty much second-rate. Tia Carrerre would grab any script that's hurled in her direction, and so would Abe Vigoda. Sure, Vigoda was popular in his hayday, but that's the whole point. He was popular IN HIS HAYDAY. Andrew Dice Clay has an amusing cameo, though. And what in the world was Stanley Tucci doing in this film??!!! Yes, THE Stanley Tucci. The Stanley Tucci from "Sidewalks of New York" and "Big Night." And here he is, playing a fanatical environmentalist. I can betcha 100 bucks this film is now crossed off his resume.

Unless you're a die-hard Pauly Shore fan, this film is as boring as sitting in a jury for 4 straight hours--and the movie's only 90 minutes long! The only hints of wit are occasional references to "12 Angry Men."

My score: 3 (out of 10)