The Judge (B or 3/4 stars)
Robert Downey Jr. & legend Robert Duvall play father & son at odds in the poignant, well-acted, if uneven courtroom dramedy, 'The Judge' (directed by David Dobkin, Wedding Crashers, Shanghai Knights, Fred Claus). Hank Palmer (RD Jr.) is a successful, but unscrupulous, & sometimes too-slick Chicago defense attorney whose marriage is crumbling when he's called back to his idyllic Midwestern hometown of Carlinville, Indiana for his mother's funeral (she died suddenly while trimming flowers). Hank is greeted relatively warmly by his older brother, Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), a gifted athlete who never left home, and his mentally-challenged younger brother, Dale (Jeremy Strong), who loves recording every family moment on his Super 8 camera. But Hank receives a cold, dismissive reception from his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who has always disapproved of Hank's flashy/flamboyant style.
Right after the burial, and as Hank is ready to depart on a plane, his father is suddenly arrested and charged with the hit-&-run "murder" of one, Mark Blackwell, a scumbag criminal whom the Judge had sentenced some yrs. back. Judge Palmer turns to C.P. Kennedy (Dax Shepard), an antique dealer/slipshod lawyer whose incompetence is obvious when he faces prosecutor Dwight Dickham (Billy Bob Thornton). Meanwhile over at the Flying Deer Diner, Hank flirts with a sassy young bartender (Leighton Meester), only to discover to that his high-school sweetheart, Samantha (Vera Farmiga, looking gorgeous) ... is the girl's her mother. Melodrama ensues as Judge Palmer's lawyer faulters, his legacy as a judge is at stake, Hank takes over the reins, family wounds resurface, & tragedy looms.
I kept being alternately intrigued, agitated, irked, & enamored by 'The Judge' as I sat through its 140 minute running time. The movie is uneven … but more on that later. As for the performances, they are the real reason to see 'The Judge'. There's no doubt that Robert Downey Jr. can deliver on nearly any role that he takes on. Here, he imbues Hank with a certain self-aware cynicism that, really, only he can get away with without making him completely unlikable. And likability is important here, because Hank has his cocksure moments, for sure. Credit the charisma of RD Jr. that he can pull Hank off so well. Having said that, if you don't normally like RD Jr.'s showy, 'too cool for school' schtick, than he likely won't win you over now.
At age 83, Robert Duvall shows here that he's still got "it". His Judge Palmer is also a bit difficult to like. And yet, there are more than enough shadings of humanity & vulnerability in his performance that we still kinda love the grouchy old coot, anyway. Duvall (and RD Jr.) is incredible in one particular scene in which his character is subjected to the harsh humiliations of old age & illness. His scenes with RD Jr. crackle with intensity and, are the best reasons to see the film. Vera Farmiga has never looked better, & I enjoyed her chemistry with RD Jr. ... too bad she was forced to bring so much to what wound up being an underwritten female role. Ditto Billy Bob Thornton. The man is awesome, and yet, the script keeps his scenes to a minimum – bummer. So yeah, the performances are pretty great; too bad the rest of the film isn’t quite on that level.
Is 'The Judge' an easy-to-swallow, crowd-pleasing drama? Well, yes it is. Does it look good? Yes. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski makes sure that the quaint small town locales look as inviting as possible. The problem with this movie is: it just really should have been better; smoother; shorter; less generic. There's also a slight off-putting self-consciousness about the proceedings; almost as if the filmmakers think that their movie here is 'sooo coool'. This film is also guilty of milking all of its emotional, tear-inducing beats. But then, just when you're about to cry from manipulation, the scene will take-on a comedic vibe; which doesn't jive with the rest of what's going on. So the film has tonal inconsistencies, as well. Still, despite my issues with it, 'The Judge' is a watchable, relatively engrossing movie that tackles issues of complicated family dynamics, divorce, death, forgiveness, & redemption.
Right after the burial, and as Hank is ready to depart on a plane, his father is suddenly arrested and charged with the hit-&-run "murder" of one, Mark Blackwell, a scumbag criminal whom the Judge had sentenced some yrs. back. Judge Palmer turns to C.P. Kennedy (Dax Shepard), an antique dealer/slipshod lawyer whose incompetence is obvious when he faces prosecutor Dwight Dickham (Billy Bob Thornton). Meanwhile over at the Flying Deer Diner, Hank flirts with a sassy young bartender (Leighton Meester), only to discover to that his high-school sweetheart, Samantha (Vera Farmiga, looking gorgeous) ... is the girl's her mother. Melodrama ensues as Judge Palmer's lawyer faulters, his legacy as a judge is at stake, Hank takes over the reins, family wounds resurface, & tragedy looms.
I kept being alternately intrigued, agitated, irked, & enamored by 'The Judge' as I sat through its 140 minute running time. The movie is uneven … but more on that later. As for the performances, they are the real reason to see 'The Judge'. There's no doubt that Robert Downey Jr. can deliver on nearly any role that he takes on. Here, he imbues Hank with a certain self-aware cynicism that, really, only he can get away with without making him completely unlikable. And likability is important here, because Hank has his cocksure moments, for sure. Credit the charisma of RD Jr. that he can pull Hank off so well. Having said that, if you don't normally like RD Jr.'s showy, 'too cool for school' schtick, than he likely won't win you over now.
At age 83, Robert Duvall shows here that he's still got "it". His Judge Palmer is also a bit difficult to like. And yet, there are more than enough shadings of humanity & vulnerability in his performance that we still kinda love the grouchy old coot, anyway. Duvall (and RD Jr.) is incredible in one particular scene in which his character is subjected to the harsh humiliations of old age & illness. His scenes with RD Jr. crackle with intensity and, are the best reasons to see the film. Vera Farmiga has never looked better, & I enjoyed her chemistry with RD Jr. ... too bad she was forced to bring so much to what wound up being an underwritten female role. Ditto Billy Bob Thornton. The man is awesome, and yet, the script keeps his scenes to a minimum – bummer. So yeah, the performances are pretty great; too bad the rest of the film isn’t quite on that level.
Is 'The Judge' an easy-to-swallow, crowd-pleasing drama? Well, yes it is. Does it look good? Yes. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski makes sure that the quaint small town locales look as inviting as possible. The problem with this movie is: it just really should have been better; smoother; shorter; less generic. There's also a slight off-putting self-consciousness about the proceedings; almost as if the filmmakers think that their movie here is 'sooo coool'. This film is also guilty of milking all of its emotional, tear-inducing beats. But then, just when you're about to cry from manipulation, the scene will take-on a comedic vibe; which doesn't jive with the rest of what's going on. So the film has tonal inconsistencies, as well. Still, despite my issues with it, 'The Judge' is a watchable, relatively engrossing movie that tackles issues of complicated family dynamics, divorce, death, forgiveness, & redemption.