This was the little film that surprised everyone, one of those projects that turned out far better than expected. It started as a spec by Dale Launer, who was inspired by a lawyer who took the bar 13 times before he passed. He wondered what if that person had to handle a murder trial and had other talents that made him successful in the courtroom. 20th Century Fox bought the script to be Andrew “Dice” Clay’s follow-up to Ford Fairlane, but after that film bombed they went in a different direction. Many names later they settled on Joe Pesci. Marisa Tomei was still new to Hollywood, and she was cast after the producers visited her on the set of the Sylvester Stallone film Oscar.
The real stroke of good luck came with hiring journeyman director Jonathan Lynn, who actually has a law degree and worked with Launer to make the courtroom scenes realistic. Those scenes hit a real golden spot of being very funny while being true to courtroom procedure. The movie shot in Georgia, which had CNN and Turner Broadcasting but wasn’t yet a regular place to make movies. As long as Lynn kept on schedule and budget he didn’t have the eyes of the Studio making suggestions and giving notes. This creative freedom led to the “two youts” scene, based on actual conversation between Lynn and Pesci.
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