Customer Reviews

Jury Duty

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I agree with the previous reviewer that this is a terrible movie but thats where the agreement ends because I disagree with him that Pauley Shore is a shame to the acting community! I really like Pauley Shore and think he has made some darn funny movies and he was very good in them especially Encino Man, Biodome and son in Law. What I didn't like about Jury Duty wasn't Pauley Shore, I thought he was good but it was what he had to work with that wasn't good like a terrible script and humor that just wasn't very humorous so the 1 star is for the movie but Pauley Shore himself would get a 5!

I agree with the previous reviewer that this is a terrible movie but thats where the agreement ends because I I disagre with him that Pauley Shore is a shame to the acting community! I really like Pauley Shore and think he has made some darn funny movies and he was very good in them especially Encino Man, Biodome and son in Law. What I didn't like about Jury Duty wasn't Pauley Shore, I thought he was good but it was what he had to work with that wasn't good like a terrible script and humor that just wasn't very humorous so the 1 star is for the movie but Pauley Shore himself would get a 5!

This was one of the worst films I've ever seen. I had a movie review show when this movie came out and I gave it the worst review of any movie I saw in the 3 years I was on the air. I VERY NEARLY LEFT THE THEATRE.

Tasteless and unfunny jokes that capitalized off the O.J. Simpson trial. That was about it.

The only good thing about JURY DUTY is that it gives young fledgling actors and writers hope that they TOO can make a movie. If studios are making JUNK like this, they'll make anything.

Why in gods name do we have a DVD release of JURY DUTY and still no DVD release of gems like: MONSTER SQUAD, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, SPELLBINDER, TROJAN WAR, DOUBLE CROSS, LOVE IS A GUN, HARDBODIES, THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN, DARK TIDE, LISTEN, AMANDA AND THE ALIEN, A HOUSE IN THE HILLS, SWATTERS, GROSS MISCONDUCT, SHOTGUN LOVE DOLLS, PRIVATE SCHOOL, THE INSIDE, ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE, GET REAL and I could go on and on and on...

If you're wondering what happened to Pauly Shore's career... watch this movie and you'll have your answer.

I agree with the previous reviewer that this is a terrible movie but thats where the agreement ends because I I disagre with him that Pauley Shore is a shame to the acting community! I really like Pauley Shore and think he has made some darn funny movies and he was very good in them especially Encino Man, Biodome and son in Law. What I didn't like about Jury Duty wasn't Pauley Shore, I thought he was good but it was what he had to work with that wasn't good like a terrible script and humor that just wasn't very humorous so the 1 star is for the movie but Pauley Shore himself would get a 5!

OK I don't mind a dumb comedy once in awhile, Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, and Billy Madison were dumb but they were funny but I was disappointed with Jury Duty I just didn't find it funny at all! I had bought this tape from a video store because it was a previously viewed tape they were selling for a really inexpensive price and since I did enjoy another Pauley Shore movie I decided to buy the previously viewed Jury Duty tape but when I watched it I was very disappointed, I was so bored and barely made it to the end! I gave the tape away to a relative who liked the movie so it wasn't a total waste of money!

This movie might have been funny back in the early to mid-90s when this type of humor was common. This movie seemed to compete with the Wayne's World films, Chris Farley films, and other SNL inspired characters and rolls. This movie weighs heavily on both the physical humor and verbal humor from the actors. Paulie Shore has some funny lines but not his best work. An honest effort but the movie falls short of any real chemistry in humor, acting, and screenplay writing. If you have nothing better to do, you could always watch this.

Between 1992 and 1996, Pauly Shore was a star. After the modest hit Encino Man in 1992, he appeared in the moderately successful Son-in-Law in 1993 and In the Army Now in 1994. Then, in 1995, came Jury Duty, the first step in his downward spiral that culminated in 1996's Bio-Dome, effectively ending this chapter of Pauly Shore's career. After 1996, Shore would never again headline a widely released comedy. Was it because the critics hated him from the start? Was it because audiences tired of his shenanigans? Perhaps it was because he cut his hair? Regardless, his choice of film roles did not help. Jury Duty is an amateurish, lazily written film that two scenes in is obviously a product of the `90s.

Shore plays Tommy, too lazy and perhaps too stupid to get a job. Babied by his mother (Shelley Winters...rather unfortunately), Tommy lives comfortably and care-free in their trailer home until his father and mother take off with the trailer for Las Vegas and leave Tommy with no food or shelter and only his dog Peanut as a companion. When Tommy is given jury duty to decide the fate of Carl Wayne Bishop (Sean Whalen), who has been accused of murdering fast food employees, Tommy sees it as an opportunity to have a place to stay and food to eat for a while as a member of the sequestered jury.

Obviously, Tommy would be immediately booted from any jury but this movie is just a showcase for Pauly Shore and realism is irrelevant to such a movie. Once on the jury, Tommy finds himself roommates with his former school principal and attempts to woo a fellow juror named Monica (Tia Carrere). There are some familiar faces included in Jury Duty, but, unfortunately for Shore, they are of actors who went on to much better careers. Stanley Tucci (who would go on to an Oscar nomination) plays a juror and looks embarrassed, while Jack McGee (terrific as Mark Wahlberg's father in 2010's The Fighter) plays the sheriff in charge of watching the jury.

Jury Duty was released in the wake of the media circus that was the O.J. Simpson trial, yet has a remarkable amount of relevance today, especially in the wake of the recent Casey Anthony trial. The strongest jokes in the film satirize the media and Jury Duty could have been an effective satire on the harmful effects of media coverage on judiciary trials. There are some clever lines, but strong satire doesn't seem to be a goal of this movie. I don't blame Shore for this either, but the three screenwriters behind this movie. Alas, it doesn't appear that any of these writers put any effort into the script and it's no surprise that only one went on to write more films. There's just no effort in the script; many, many jokes fall flat on their face. Some are so weak; the best delivery couldn't save them. There's a needless love interest, but there is no charisma. No charisma between Shore and the actress, but nothing in the script that suggests there should be charisma either. There's no character development and the whole plot feels haphazardly strewn together. Shore's characters in Son-in-Law and Encino Man were developed. Jury Duty just says "here's Tommy. He's a loser." He's also a one-note character that the writers seemed to write worthless ideas around to form their story. The biggest sin of the script is blatant continuity errors and complete lapses in logic. In one instance, a juror has tickets to a basketball game and says they are for that night. After Tommy keeps the jury going late, the juror angrily tears his tickets in half. After we see him tear them up, we see him with them again not once but twice more. There should be no reason to explain how this defies both logic and physics. The script also expects audiences to believe that Tommy has a complete change of character overnight. Since Tommy is underdeveloped, there's no reason to root for him or believe that his underdeveloped character can change on a whim into a different underdeveloped character.

The film itself is amateurishly made, cheap-looking and directed with no sense of humor. Not that it takes itself seriously, but tired gags like a face (unconvincingly) hitting a window and sliding down are expected to make people laugh. Not even the addition of an adorable dog redeems the film. With that said, I must admit there were moments of amusement. The montage of Shore getting kicked off of various juries made me laugh, I found the satire of media amusing and relevant, and the infomercial for a night-light that looks like the accused killer in an electric chair was quite funny. But with bored looking actors and a convoluted, illogical, idiotic, and rushed ending that passes in minutes yet seems like it's taking forever, there's no saving grace here.

I like Pauly Shore and I'm not ashamed to admit it. There's something so `90s about his existence and, as a child of the `90s, there's something about his presence that brings me back to those years. Still, the fact remains, Pauly Shore is a one-dimensional actor. There's nothing wrong with being one-dimensional in the comedy genre as long as you're funny. Shore didn't sit right with critics, who never found him funny nor did audiences tolerate him for more than a brief time. Eventually, everyone seemed to conclude that Pauly's "Weasel shtick" was obnoxious, unlikable, and (the ultimate comedic sin) not funny. I've found Shore's heyday films are at least passable and at worst one-note. Jury Duty is just a terrible film.

GRADE: D-

I like Pauley Shore I have seen him in other movies that I liked so I made the mistake of buying the Jury Duty video because I liked In The Army Now and Bio-Dome and assumed I would like this too, well I learned my lesson well and I learned it the hard way and wasted my money and I have learned to never assume I will like a movie because I liked the actor in another movie and from now on I will rent the movie first! Jury Duty simply was just plain awful with it's weak, boring plot and unfunny humor! In The Army Now and Bio-Dome were a lot funnier, and if you want to kick back, relax and laugh your [backside] off than watch those movies!

The thought that western civilization could produce such garbage in the 20th century completely baffles me.

"Intense Pain." Those are the two words that best summarize my feelings about the Pauly Shore travesty "Jury Duty." You know it's going to be a fabulous film when the movie opens with Shore as a male stripper whose onstage persona is "The Milkman" at the "International House of Beefcakes." Pauly Shore in a sequined thong writhing in milk is a sight I could have done without for the rest of my life.

Shore wriggles his way onto a jury in a sensational murder trial and repeatedly annoys Abe Vigoda, whose portrayal of a judge and utter contempt for Shore gets the nod for best performance in the movie. Shore ends up in love with fellow juror Tia Carrere, and has unusual relationships with his former principal, the accused, and several other oddballs. Along the way we are treated to typical Shore humor showcases, many of which involve the bathroom (extended physiological needs, ducks in the tub, etc.,) cross-dressing, or his ugly dog who is addicted to watching "Jeopardy."

In a completely predictable turn of fate, Shore ends up being a cross between Columbo and Clouseau as he solves a felony, causes a mistrial, and becomes a national and environmental hero. It was a forgone conclusion that Shore would end up the hero and get the pretty girl, so if you want to see that, this movie might appeal to you. What appeals to me right now is putting this DVD in the trash can, or perhaps more in the spirit of Brian Doyle-Murray's "styrofoam miner" character, I will put it in the recycle bin.