MovieChat Forums > The Judge (2014) Discussion > Character names seem to place this film ...

Character names seem to place this film around 1992


If this film feels like a throwback to the early 90s, it's not just the Grisham-esque subject matter and setting. The character names add to the throwback feel. It takes place in 2014, but you have:

- Three brothers in their 40s named "Hank," "Glen," and "Dale"

- A 24-year-old woman named "Carla"

- Teenage boys named "Eric" and "Joe"

- A little girl named "Lauren" who mentions two friends her age: "Megan" and "Caitlin".

If you type any of these names into Baby Name Voyager, you'll see they were very popular ... about ~20-25 years prior to when each of these characters was supposedly born. "Glen, Hank, and Dale" sound like three brothers born in the 1950s, not the 1970s. "Carla" sounds like a woman born in the late 60s, not 1990. "Eric and Joe" sound like brothers born in the late-1970s, not the late-1990s. "Lauren, Megan, and Caitlin," again, these were trendy baby names in the 80s, not the 2000s.

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Great observation. Maybe the script was written that long ago and has been waiting this long to be developed. The movie certainly struck me as being very old fashioned in the sense that it was melodramatic and cliched and the humor was cheesy. It did seem like a very 1990's-era TV movie now that you mention it.

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It did seem like a very 1990's-era TV movie now that you mention it.


Yeah, that's what I thought as well, a very 90s feel. Was surprised it was that new (saw it actually completely unaware of the existence of this movie).

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Henry was named for one of his father's law profs... therefore the time period of the name is not relevant. If he was named for someone his father respected, then it is likely that Glen and Dale were also... especially Glen may have been named for one of his Dad or Mom's brothers ro fathers. My son was born in the late 90s and has had several Erics in his classes, Scout Troops, etc. Likewise, my daughter was born at the turn of this century and both she and her brother have known several Joes. All three female names will be found in my daughter's classes. Small town families, especially religious ones choose family names (and Catholics tend toward Saint's names... as other denominations may well, if not Biblical names). Your theory is very flawed.

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Or, spoiler alert, they are from Indiana and not California so there would be a lot less Madison, Baxter, Spencer, Keegan, or Jamarcus

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Didn't the date on the mom's gravestone read 2014 though?

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