MovieChat Forums > Jury Duty (2023) Discussion > I'm confused

I'm confused

posted 2 years ago by cv1cv (530)
14 replies | jump to latest

I haven't watched any of this, but I would like to clear up my confusion before I start watching it. I've seen this described as a "mockumentary", with everyone except one guy being actors and the trial as fake. So my question is: Is this a show ABOUT people pretending to be fake jurors (so the one juror who "doesn't know" it's fake is really an actor)? Or is it REALLY a guy who doesn't know he's on a fake jury, meaning that it's really not a mockumentary because in a mockumentary EVERYONE is an actor? If you're confused by my question, welcome to my confused world. But at least one of the actors is widely known (James Marsden), so why would a naive person not know it's all fake?

[–] rushington (769) 2 years ago

It's about a guy who doesn't know he's part of a fake jury to deliberate on a fake civil case. It's explained at the beginning of each episode. The show plays like reality tv and all the actors create quirky and unreal situations around the guy and get to comment on stuff. My favorite jurors are James and Noah.

[–] cv1cv (530) 2 years ago

Thanks. In that case, it's not really a mockumentary. In a mockumentary, everyone is an actor.

[–] TearofLys (2666) 2 years ago

I have trouble seeing how they could legally dupe that guy and essentially detain him for weeks. They were sequestered, so essentially false imprisonment. He has to be in on it as he would have to consent to this beforehand. Otherwise it is a crime.

[–] jcnyclv (1633) 2 years ago

I agree with you. It's one thing to dupe someone for a show for a few hours or a couple of days, assuming the person can go home at the end of the day. It's completely another story to falsely sequester someone and not let that person go home. It just doesn't make sense. Perhaps the person was in on it after all.

Edited to say: In thinking about it, it is possible that once the individual finds out that they're going to be on a show, their vanity takes over and they're not angry about having been held, not allowed to go home. You never know about people.

[–] Keelai (36065) 2 years ago

The judge will normally ask jurors if they can be sequestered. The paparazzi's potential harassment of the jurors for a James Marsden scoop became the excuse for it.

[–] OnanTheBarbarian (13076) 2 years ago

Marsden is an actor. This is obviously all scripted.

[–] NoEasyBuckets (352) 2 years ago

I don't see why it can't still be a mockumentary. Everybody else is an actor and all of the situations are fake, so it's one real person unknowingly participating in a mockumentary. And James Marsden plays himself as a juror, not some random character.

[–] cv1cv (530) 2 years ago

A mockumentary is meant to appear to be a documentary, but everything is fake. Jury Duty was never intended to look like a documentary because everyone, including the audience, knows it's fake, except for the one guy who is being pranked. The fact that Marsden plays himself is irrelevant. He couldn't play a character because Gladden would have immediately recognized him, destroying any chance of successfully completing the series.

[–] Keelai (36065) 2 years ago

The show is about the real guy's reaction toward all the wackiness going on around him. It's a reality show. I've watched a few with a similar theme in which one person is basically being pranked by actors. These actors were excellent.

Marsden is playing a caricature of an entitled actor. Famous people are called for jury duty, too.

[–] NoEasyBuckets (352) a year ago

This is such a weird thing to argue about. You're acting like there's some strict definition for a mockumentary and there can't be a twist on it. It's a fictional show presented as a documentary. Hmmm if only we had a word to describe that. Oh, a mockumentary. There's someone in it that doesn't know he's not in a real documentary? Okay then it's like a reality/prank show within a mockumentary. There now it's cleared up.

You also say the fact that Mardsen is playing himself is irrelevant, but you were the one that brought up that him being in it would give it away.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I got news for ya: the whole thing is fake.

When a group really pulls off something like this, you’ll hear about it. The last person I remember doing it for real is Sacha Baren Cohen.

[–] cv1cv (530) 2 years ago

Your opinion. And opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.

[–] orangeflava (1924) 2 years ago

This was a great mockumentary. Can't believe he took the blame for Marsden's turd! lol

We need a season 2!

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

So yours stinks too, got it