Do real lawyers cringe at the inaccuracies in lawyer/courtroom drama shows and movies, or do they just see it as "Hollywood" entertainment?
As an attorney and a huge film buff, I mainly just see legal inaccuracies in films as Hollywood misunderstandings of what attorneys and judges do for a living. But then I can always turn around and watch My Cousin Vinny, and have my faith in Hollywood, screenwriters, actors and directors restored.
(Expert witness testimony should not make for a humorous scene. My Cousin Vinny, though, takes it from start to finish and milks it for every bit of drama and comedy. I love Fred Gwynne’s face here, too, because he’s simply so blown away by the quality of Vinny’s examination and the testimony.)
My Cousin Vinny, other than being an amazing comedy, is just that accurate as to what criminal trial practice actually looks like. And lawyers universally agree, if you want to see a good depiction of what litigators do for a living, it really is the best game in town.
Yes, it greatly compresses the time scale of events from arrest to trial: felonies, let alone murder charges, often take a year, if not far longer, to go to trial, but that’s pretty much the only inaccuracy in the film.
(Vinny Gambini, multiple bar failures or not, would be one Hell of a criminal defense attorney in real life.)
The crazy thing, of course, is that trial practice is quite dry and boring. Testimony by expert witnesses, effective objections, and conducting competent direct and cross examination, and impugning eyewitness testimony, all of which this film is stunningly good at accurately presenting are not all that fun to watch, or dramatic, in the best of circumstances. The writer, director and actors here, though, make it a joy to watch, going through all the correct motions with grace, wit and drama.
It really is amazingly good.
