I am of the opinion that you are either a Tim Heidecker fan or you are not. His dark humor is not for everybody. However, if your mind works the "right" way, this is quite possibly the funniest human being ever. In this spin-off from "On Cinema," sociopath Tim Heidecker tries to defend himself from charges that he was responsible for the deaths of twenty young people at his Electric Sun concert. Is Tim responsible? Oh hell yeah! However, in Tim's incredibly dark and devious mind, prison is not an option. So we are treated to one of the most bizarre and narcissistic defenses ever put forward by one diseased mind. The real treat is how incredibly realistic this trial seems. The acting is so top-notch. We have the courtroom actors and favorites from the show like Gregg, Dr. San, etc.. I laughed so hard, while at the same time, feeling somewhat troubled at how comfortable Tim portrays such a sociopathic monster. I wish more people could appreciate this, but I realize that it is not for everyone.
7 Reviews
The Greatest Piece of Performance Art Yet in the 21th Century
masterowl-5898824 November 2019
This is an incredible watch. When I see all the people playing hyper realitistic characters, all I can think of is the strong endurance required to keep composure whilst Tim's antics get crazier and crazier. Even though it is mostly a cringe-comedy, a lot of touching performances are seen aswell, especially from district attorney Vincent Rosetti (Don Pecchia). The way it ties into the bigger On Cinema is also a sight to behold and there is also a lot of subtle forshadowing towards the forthcoming motion picture, Mister America, which I strongly recommend. Even if you couldn't care less for On Cinema, this brilliant miniseries will keep you on the edge of your seat and hopefully drag you into this universe intricately built by comedic genius and performance artist Tim Heidecker.
Incredible piece of art & storytelling
EitoMan29 April 2020
"The Trial" is but a small fraction (despite it's long running time) of the larger "On Cinema" universe. The Trial, like the rest of the On Cinema universe, is basically a soap-opera revolving around a narrow cast of incredibly dysfunctional people.
On Cinema began as a podcast, then became an independent YouTube show, and was finally picked up by Adult Swim (where it is both shown on television and made available on YouTube. On Cinema is basically just a framework for various story-lines that revolve around Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington--both playing fictionalized versions of themselves. The On Cinema show has produced a number of notable related spin-offs including annual Oscar Specials, five Decker "movies," The Trial, and the theatrical release "Mister America." It is also carried over to social media wherein both Tim and Gregg further interact and advance the various stories. Each of these projects (including The Trial) continues and/or develops further story-lines within the On Cinema universe. It is an incredibly ambitious comedy project that has lasted the better part of a decade and shows no sign of slowing down. It is truly one of the biggest, most successful performance-art projects ever undertaken. None of these projects are presented in a stereotypical "comedic" fashion--they are each played out as surreal dramas (or in the case of Decker as 'action' films).
All of that aside, The Trial is a great watch for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is Tim Heidecker's performance. Tim is a criminally underrated actor--probably because of the absurdity of the subject matter he involves himself in. Still, you can see in The Trial (and much of his other On Cinema projects) how versatile and frightening he can actually be. The Trial is basically played "straight" but there are so many bizarre, unbelievable elements at play it is easy to overlook the real genius on display.
Although you don't necessarily need to watch multiple seasons of On Cinema to appreciate The Trial, it wouldn't hurt to at least watch a few episodes to understand the personalities of Tim (and Gregg) as well as the stressed relationship.
On Cinema began as a podcast, then became an independent YouTube show, and was finally picked up by Adult Swim (where it is both shown on television and made available on YouTube. On Cinema is basically just a framework for various story-lines that revolve around Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington--both playing fictionalized versions of themselves. The On Cinema show has produced a number of notable related spin-offs including annual Oscar Specials, five Decker "movies," The Trial, and the theatrical release "Mister America." It is also carried over to social media wherein both Tim and Gregg further interact and advance the various stories. Each of these projects (including The Trial) continues and/or develops further story-lines within the On Cinema universe. It is an incredibly ambitious comedy project that has lasted the better part of a decade and shows no sign of slowing down. It is truly one of the biggest, most successful performance-art projects ever undertaken. None of these projects are presented in a stereotypical "comedic" fashion--they are each played out as surreal dramas (or in the case of Decker as 'action' films).
All of that aside, The Trial is a great watch for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is Tim Heidecker's performance. Tim is a criminally underrated actor--probably because of the absurdity of the subject matter he involves himself in. Still, you can see in The Trial (and much of his other On Cinema projects) how versatile and frightening he can actually be. The Trial is basically played "straight" but there are so many bizarre, unbelievable elements at play it is easy to overlook the real genius on display.
Although you don't necessarily need to watch multiple seasons of On Cinema to appreciate The Trial, it wouldn't hurt to at least watch a few episodes to understand the personalities of Tim (and Gregg) as well as the stressed relationship.
Hyper real satirical mockumentary at it's finest
Bip_Henderson4 December 2020
12 Angry Men, The Verditict, Anatomy of a Murder...
These are films I think of when I think of great courtroom films.
All of them are great until you go to a real court and realise they are nothing more than overacted Hollywood nonsense. The Trial takings you into the pace and feel of an authentic, yet entertaning, courtroom drama. Tim should get life in prison for killing the Electric Sun 20!
A SHOW THAT EVERYONE SHOUL SEE
johan-grmek25 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Okay so talking about this is kinda hard, because it's a unique and new way of doing comedy...Let me refraze that l. It's a way of doing the same comedy across all different platforms witch are capable of comunicating it. Its on youtube as the review show that they are doing, twitter, music videos of dekkar. And a so bad its good deker tv show. Oh and cupple of episodes are just court room footage of tim's trail because he killed 20 kids in one of the episodes. Its a deep and amazing character study of two guys Tim and Gregg who are just reviewing films and it's played like you are watching thier review episodes on youtube but then they go and tweet about It from the same character. They also have an anual oscar special where tim gets drunk and starts having mental breakdowns while gregg just wants to talk about random vhs movies. Its really just an amazing ride across multiple shows and spin off shows that are all made by those two characters.
One of the funniest things is how childish and lost tim's character is.he can't for the love of him stick to the movie reviewing but constantly branches off talking about how he at some point got evolved with kkk, how his child died because doctor san who killed him self in prison because he doesn't want to be responsible for the death of those children. Tim's whole body is in bandages in some episodes because he burned down gregs film archive and the one of his band mambers from dekar sacrifices his hand for the doctors to sow the skin back on tim's hand because it got burned so bad.
The point is this show is crazy and you should watch it because it's one of the best things comedy has ever gave us.
One of the funniest things is how childish and lost tim's character is.he can't for the love of him stick to the movie reviewing but constantly branches off talking about how he at some point got evolved with kkk, how his child died because doctor san who killed him self in prison because he doesn't want to be responsible for the death of those children. Tim's whole body is in bandages in some episodes because he burned down gregs film archive and the one of his band mambers from dekar sacrifices his hand for the doctors to sow the skin back on tim's hand because it got burned so bad.
The point is this show is crazy and you should watch it because it's one of the best things comedy has ever gave us.
Objection! speculation.
NerdecahedroN19 September 2023
Ive tried to get friends, family, and coworkers to watch this. To absolutely no avail. Yeah the time put into it intimidated everyone to avoid this and sometimes I wish I could just force it onto them yknow. I gave it a chance and found it hilarious because theres so much detail and backstory that missing a little moment of it could skew the viewing. Slow, SLOW burn comedy but to me 100 percent worth it. I spread it out over 3 days and as time went on I cracked up more and more. Don't let the time intimidate you and give it a watch, it deserves it! But then again it is definitely an acquired taste and its alright to not like it too. If you are a fan of deadpan slow burn comedies or just happen to enjoy trials check it out.
Long series with lots of satire
IrateTyrant24 December 2023
Hey there, On Cinema co-host Gregg Turkington... This was hands-down one of the dumbest things I have ever sat-through, and I had to stand up and sit back down several times, and still consider it an overwhelming entirety of a full sit-through. 'The Trial' movie is just a court recorder, shamelessly not moving the camera angle, during a case involving ramped up junkies overdosing at a trashy music festival on enhanced vapes. I laughed at this, satirically, but not in a very comedic way. Ridiculously long, dry, and remarkably unfunny. Yet Heidecker and his costars still use their time to be intriguing, multi-faceted, in-depth with their character analyses, worth a chortle or two, and put together for a good use of film. In other words, great show awesome job.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
