#118: Jury Duty, now streaming on Freevee
No, not the 1995 Pauly Shore movie...
Hello everyone,
Am I crazy or was this really fun?
I finished watching this weeks ago and am still shaking my head in disbelief. I have no idea how it was possible to do something like this! Pulling off the ruse is a feat, but making it enjoyable to watch and even heartwarming by the end? I can’t remember the last time I had such a satisfying experience with reality TV.
I use “reality TV” loosely. It is more of a hidden camera show where everyone is in on it except one guy: Ronald Gladden.
After receiving thousands of submissions to their Craigslist ad, the producers chose this perfect guy.1 He is nice and calm and funny, but never seeks attention for himself. He has a conscience but isn’t a Goody Two Shoes or tattle tale.
He thinks it is a real case and wants to be helpful to the “documentarians,” who he thinks are making a movie about serving on a jury. There are cameras in the room and interviews with the “jurors” without him suspecting anything. Ronald has no idea that everyone is an actor playing a part. Weird things happen around him but the closest he gets to figuring it out is when he says: “This feels like reality TV.”
The actors do a great job at staying in character, following a script, but also improvising to what Ronald does. At times they have to subtly guide him to certain outcomes, but they also need back up plans in case he takes things a different direction.
Some hidden camera shows can feel cruel or manipulative towards the unknowing subject(s), but I never felt that way about Jury Duty. There was a sense of camaraderie among the “jurors” and it’s obvious they cared for each other.
Again, I can’t believe they pulled it off. It is a difficult balance to have strange things happening, but not too strange. To have goofy characters, but not too goofy.
If you’ve seen it, let me know what you think! If you haven’t, give it a shot. And if you’ve watched a couple episodes and thought “this isn’t for me,” I hear you. The payoff for me was that last episode when it all comes to light.
Have a great weekend,
Kyle
In the initial write up I said they interviewed 2,500 people, but this Vulture article made it sound like they received thousands of submissions before narrowing it down to 15 or 20 to interview.