Well, with my law school career coming to an end (I have 11 [and counting] classes left), I figured now was as good a time as any to post my list of the top 10 lawyer movies.1. Let's start with my favorite lawyer movie and one of my favorite movies of all time: A Time to Kill. There was a great line by Samuel L. and a great acting performance by Matthew McConaughey, perhaps the only one of his career. His closing argument was phenomenal.
2. This is a little more on the light side, but it is still a Southern murder movie involving two youths. My Cousin Vinny. This is how NOT to do cross examination.
3. Another quotable movie emerges at #3. A Few Good Men. A typical opening statement by the prosecution. One of Jack Nicholson's finest moments. Even Jack Bauer had a role in this movie.
4. The oldest movie on my list, To Kill a Mockingbird is, again, one of my favorite movies of all time. The book ain't so bad, either. Atticus Finch is the model of what a lawyer should be: integrity, honor, morals. There isn't much more to add.
5. Philadelphia. A sad movie, but a great movie. I really enjoyed the fact that Denzel Washington was not as holier-than-thou as he usually was in the mid 1990s. Also, there was a funny spoof on Family Guy.
6. Primal Fear. This was the first movie in which Edward Norton displayed his incredible acting ability. Great movie, great ending. Richard Gere played a typical defense attorney where people always wonder what trick he has up his sleeve.
7. Another Tom Cruise movie, but The Firm was a very good movie.
8. Another racial inequality in the South movie, Ghosts of Mississippi is a movie I stop to watch whenever I catch it on TNT or HBO.
9. the Pelican Brief. This movie scores points for me because it was filmed in New Orleans and Julia Roberts played a Tulane law student. A scene was even filmed in then law school building Jones Hall room 102.
10. A hilarious movie, Trial and Error, rounds out my top 10. This is basically 90 minutes of Seinfeld's Kramer being Kramer, not to be confused with Kramer vs. Kramer. An out of work actor decides to pretend to be an attorney. High jinks and shenanigans ensue.
Honorable mention goes to 12 Angry Men (the original), Jury Duty (just kidding) and The Devil's Advocate.
5 comments:
Good list...haven't seen most of 'em. But, I trust you like I trust Kim Jong Ill.
Personally, I'd include Liar, Liar and (the all time greatest movie ever) Legally Blond.
Can't argue with that list...I would give Liar Liar Honorable Mention though
"The Verdict" starring Mr. Paul Newman as an underdog alcoholic attorney is an absolute Top 5 Lawyer Movie
What about Kazaam?
What I love about lawyer movies is its unpredictability. Sometimes it's quite hard to figure out who the true victim and perpetrator are in the plot. My favorite lawyer movie of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
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