Jury Duty(1995)

SHORT VERSION:
Frank is the real killer, not Carl. He was a hardcore environmentalist who had lost hope in humanity becoming more environmentally conscious, so he decided to violently deal with those who didn’t care about the environment. He was enraged at how the fast food chains were using non-recyclables, so he killed several employees, and then he framed Carl – who was a disgruntled ex-employee – for the murders. Also, Frank’s real name is actually Billy. He took over jury duty from a stranger named Frank – whom he met outside the courthouse earlier in the film – so he could become a juror for Carl’s case to ensure that Carl would take the fall and therefore keep his trail cold. He ends up killing Frank to silence him.

Tommy figures out the truth, and with help from fellow juror and love interest Monica and his dog Peanut, Billy is exposed, subdued, and brought to justice. Tommy and Monica become a couple, and Tommy goes back to stripping, where he has better success than before due to the press he got from solving the case. The closing text states that, with the money he earned in tips, he paid his way through law school and became an attorney. Peanut ends up becoming a contestant on Jeopardy, his favorite show.

LONG VERSION:
After Tommy (Pauly Shore) draws out the deliberations for a month, the other jurors become infuriated with him to the point where, one day, Monica (Tia Carrere) furiously tells him to get his act together by tomorrow or else she will get him thrown off of the jury. Tommy therefore goes on a crash course of law study to come up with a valid reason to cast doubt on Carl (Sean Whalen) being the killer.

The next day, Tommy manages to bring forth some solid evidence that Carl is innocent, especially on the ride back to the hotel, where he provides the biggest example. Unfortunately, before this proof can be presented in court, Monica finds out about the luxurious suite he has been secretly staying in in the hotel after she finds and chases his dog Peanut up to it. She realizes that he has been drawing out the trial so he could stay there, and though he tries to tell her that he has changed and is concerned about the case, she doesn’t believe him. Murphy (Jack McGee) the bailiff then shows up, having followed Monica to the room, and sees that Tommy had not been staying in his assigned room. The next day, a mistrial is declared due to Tommy’s actions, and he returns to his mother’s trailer.

The next day, Tommy goes looking for polystyrene at the city dump with his stepfather Jed (Charles Napier), and he finds some polystyrene fast food containers lying around. After Jed remarks how the “psycho environmentalists” have got their views on polystyrene all ass-backwards, he realizes that the murdered fast food employees were not murdered by a disgruntled ex-employee, but by an environmentalist who was angry with the restaurants for using non-recyclables. He tries to tell Monica about his discovery over the phone, but she refuses to listen to him. He then decides to pay a visit to fellow juror Frank (Stanley Tucci), believing he might know something about it because he is an environmentalist himself.

Frank is then shown paying a visit to the stranger whose jury duty he took over for, and he proceeds to kill him with a stun gun. It turns out that the stranger is the real Frank (Rick Ducommun), and “Frank” is the true killer. “Frank” – as he would later reveal – had lost all hope in people being more environmentally conscious, so he decided to “help the Earth cleanse itself” by killing those who didn’t care about the environment. Because the fast food chains were using non-recyclables, he lashed out at them by killing those employees, and then he had Carl framed for the murders. After that, he approached Frank – whom he had overheard saying he didn’t want to do jury duty outside of the courthouse on the same day Tommy came there – and made a deal with him where he would pretend to be him for jury duty so he could go on his pre-planned vacation, so that way he could become a juror for Carl’s case and ensure that Carl would get convicted and therefore keep his trail cold. He killed Frank simply to silence him.

Tommy then visits “Frank” and tells him about what the killer’s agenda is. When “Frank” asks if he told anyone else about this, he says he told Monica, but she didn’t want to listen to him. He then asks “Frank” to come with him to the library where she works so he will back up his findings, and he agrees.

Upon meeting up with Monica, “Frank” draws a gun on both of them and then ties them up. Tommy ends up shouting out his special call to summon Peanut, and as he and Monica wait for him, Tommy asks “Frank” why he did it. “Frank” reveals that his name is actually Billy, and he explains his whole plot to them. Before he can kill Tommy and Monica, Peanut arrives and knocks him down, then chews Tommy and Monica’s bonds off. After a brief confrontation between the trio, Tommy knocks out Billy, and he and Monica kiss.

Some days later, at a press conference in front of the courthouse, Judge Powell (Abe Vigoda) commends Tommy for his efforts by giving him a check for $5 for doing an extra day of jury duty. Tommy gives his thanks, and he tells Powell that he has shown him what he should be doing with his life. He is then shown stripping in a judge’s uniform with lots of female customers watching him, and he gets a kiss from Monica as he performs. In the closing text, it states that Tommy went to law school, paying his way through with the money he made in tips, and he eventually became an attorney. Peanut ends up becoming a contestant on Jeopardy, his favorite show.