Thursday, December 5, 1996
PROFILE:
Two professors rate trial movies on quality and authenticityBy
Teeb Al-Samarrai
Daily Bruin Contributor
In a society as engrossed by movies as it is by the courtroom,
Law Professors Paul Bergman and Michael Asimow say that since no
one had written a book about the use of the courtrooms in films,
they decided to do it themselves.
In their book, Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies,
the two UCLA alumni rate over 110 trial movies, ranging from
classics like "To Kill A Mockingbird" and
"Inherit the Wind" to more contemporary films such as
"Philadelphia" and "My Cousin Vinny," on a scale of one to four
gavels. They based their ratings on quality, dramatic power, and
authenticity of the trial scenes.
The aim of the book is "to answer people’s questions about what
they saw and to help them choose (from) the great assortment of
movies," Asimow said. Bergman added that the book is also meant to
entertain.
"It was the realization that this is a wonderful genre of movies
that nobody has written about (that made us decide to write the
book)," said Bergman, who came up with the idea. "A trial is always
dramatic in the public eye, (especially) because of the justice
system."
Asimow said that courtroom movies are popular because making a
successful movie is about telling "a story people would be
interested in," but one that isn’t too serious. He pointed out that
courtroom movies are filled with the essentials for good story
telling, namely conflict and suspense.
"(There are) conflicts between lawyer and judge, lawyer and
jury, client and lawyer … The suspense the jury provides (is that
we) never know what the jury is going to do," Asimow explained.
Bergman says that for filmakers, the appeal of law is that it
offers good storytelling.
"Law is so important in our society  it covers everything
from immigration, abortion, affirmative action, religion in
schools… a tremendous expanse," he said.
Reel Justice offers a synopsis of the "story," a full "legal
analysis," and a "trial brief" of about 70 movies, with an
additional 40 in an appendix. Even though their only basis for
which movies to include was word of mouth, the authors say they had
so many films for consideration that it was a challenge to narrow
them down to 70.
For Bergman, the most disappointing aspect found in the films
they reviewed was the "demeaning treatment of women as lawyers
 they are often portrayed as susceptible to their emotions,
they’re unethical, always falling in love with their client … a
very disappointing aspect, with few positive images."
Even today, Bergman says this stereotypical portrayal of women
persists. For example, he points out that in "A Few Good Men," Demi
Moore’s character, an experienced lawyer, is portrayed as
incompetent, assuming a subordinate role to Tom Cruise’s character,
who has never even set foot in a courtroom.
The authors said that even enjoyable movies received bad gavel
ratings in their book since, as Bergman put it,"thrillers that use
courtroom scenes as a jump-off point usually have a trial in them
that is pretty silly and then go into the chase scenes (and)
exploding cars…"
To Bergman and Asimow, the exploding cars and chase scenes
aren’t the most absurd things taking place in the on-screen court
dramas. They also discovered scenarios such as defense attorneys
hiring spies to seduce then sabotage the opposing counsel, and
lawyers admitting their clients’ guilt before the jury, which
according to Asimow, would be "a career terminating move."
As for their own personal favorite movies, Asimow and Bergman’s
preferences are different, but their choices both focus on legal
proceedings.
Asimow’s favorite is "To Kill A Mockingbird," a film in which
Gregory Peck plays a lawyer who takes on a nearly impossible case
based on his obligation as a lawyer to provide counsel for anyone
in need. Bergman says he is partial to "Inherit the Wind," a film
which is based on the Scopes Trial.
To promote Reel Justice, the two authors have appeared on CNN,
the Today Show, KCET’s Life and Times, Turner Entertainment
Reports, and various radio stations including KABC and West Coast
Live. They said that, surprisingly, they haven’t received any
negative responses from disgruntled actors or directors.
In fact, they received a letter from Gregory Peck, who won an
Oscar for his role as Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird"
(which received a four gavel rating), agreeing with the poor rating
granted to another of his films.
Books: Bergman and Asimow will sign books and show film clips at
Super Crown at 4454 Van Nuys Blvd in Sherman Oaks from 2-3pm Dec
14, and at Barnes and Noble at 111 Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena Dec.
18 at 7:30 p.m.