When this movie first came out I remember reading a review somewhere that said that 'The Judge' sounds like one of those smallish scale, finally acted, smart family/legal drama's that they used to make during say the 1990's, but that it's actually kind of stupid. That description stayed with me and after seeing the film I'd have to agree.
Robert Downey Jr. is an amoral city lawyer whose life is a mess and his marriage is falling apart, who travels to the small town in Indiana he grew up in for his mothers funeral. The night after the funeral Downey's semi-estranged father played by Robert Duvall is involved in a hit and run, in which he kills a man he had sent to prison, and who he publicly felt was released too soon. Downey must defend his pop against a slick lawyer with a grudge against him played by Billy Bob Thornton.
Now these leads are great, if too obvious for their parts, and the supporting cast is quite strong, including Vera Farminga and Vincent D'Onofrio. However the story is well worn cliché, this movie feels 30 years old. The painfully obvious is mixed with some weird decisions, including Downey Jr. making out with a young woman (Leighton Meester) whom he comes to think for awhile may be his previously unknown daughter, but turns out to be his niece (Robert and Vincent both bonked Vera in high school). The resolution to the main father and son arc was so painfully cliché and on the nose that I boo'd at the TV for close to minute. While there are some solidly performed scenes in this film the whole of the picture is an insulating mess. **
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