Mon cousin Vinny

Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stanley Rothenstein are friends from NYC on their way to UCLA driving through Alabama. Bill accidentally takes a can from a convenience store. When the cops stop them, they think it's for shoplifting. It turns out that they are getting charged with murder. They have no money so Bill's mom gets cousin Vinny Gambini (Joe Pesci). Vinny brings his car expert girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei). It's Vinny's first murder case and his first trial. He only passed the bar six weeks ago after 6 times trying. He starts lying to Judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne) for his approval.

Vinny is not simply a brash Italian New Yorker. He's filled with doubt and trying to bluff his way through it. He's not necessarily the most appealing character at the start but he grows on you. Marisa Tomei was the big discovery at the time. She's absolutely wonderful. She puts a fair comedy over the top.

This was the best way for Joe Pesci to follow up GOODFELLAS and JFK. Those two were ultra-serious roles for him and to forray into comedy was perfect. It was a perfect role, perfect timing and a perfect opportunity to show people that he could play something other than the heavy or the bad guy. MY COUSIN VINNY is really just a distant cousin of his character in Goodfellas anyway. Just imagine one of the guys in Goodfellas that didn't want to follow in the footsteps of the rest of the gangsters and this is him. Vinny is a foul mouthed, sometime violent, insecure but smart man. He went to law school but took six attempts before he passed the bar. They are definitely similar characters. The difference is that Goodfellas was a serious film with a funny side and My Cousin Vinny is an absolutely hilarious film with a somewhat serious side.

What makes the film work as well as it does, is many things. First of all you have the fish out of water scenario with Vinny and his fiancee Lisa, wearing leather jackets and cowboy boots down in the south where it seems everyone is wearing overalls and they hang out in establishments where their best selling feature is chicken and pool.

You also have a great supporting cast that features Lane Smith as a very animated D.A. that has to hammer home every point to his jury like they were morons. He says the word "truth" is a word that comes down from England where all of our ancestors come, and looking at him incredulously is some of the black jury members. Fred Gwynne supplies some of the best comedy for the film with his constant badgering of Vinny. Everything from his suit, to his enunciation of words like "youts", to his court room impropriety to his just plain dislike of him. Gwynne and Pesci are so opposite as people. Gwynne being a giant of a man with a southern drawl and a long, virile face while Pesci is a short man with a distinct New Yawk slur and a pudgy, baby looking face. They are complete opposites and much of the hilarity comes from their inability to see eye to eye on many things.

It also has to said that Marisa Tomei is brilliant in this film. There are people out there that try to demean her Oscar triumph that year because the favourite did not win like anticipated. But her performance here is nothing short of Oscar worthy. She is a gifted actress and her comedic timing in this film is bang on, or as she would say, " dead on balls accurate. "

This is one of the funnier films to come out in the 90's and it is well worth seeing again.

9 out of 10

Definitely one of my all-time favorite comedies. Well directed, well acted -- priceless comic performances by Pesci, Tomei, Gwynne & Austin Pendleton. And more than comedy -- there's also a lot of genuine pathos and real tension and drama, especially in the final courtroom scene. And I really don't understand the "controversy" or brouhaha over Marisa Tomei receiving the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in this movie. It's a crackerjack gem of a performance and a stellar comic portrayal. The only thing I can figure is that a lot of snobbery about serious dramatic portrayals somehow being more worthy of honor than great comic performances still very much lives on in much of the film community.

Two young men named "Bill Gambini" (Ralph Macchio) and "Stan Rothenstein" (Mitchell Whitfield) are driving on vacation from Brooklyn and happen to stop in Beecham County, Alabama for some groceries. Bill accidentally pockets a can of tuna into his jacket and forgets to pay the clerk at the counter. As he and Stan are driving down the road, Bill realizes his mistake and tells Stan. Although both of them are somewhat concerned, they continue driving down the road. They are then stopped by the police and taken to the local police station. Figuring that honesty is the best policy, Bill makes a blanket confession. What he doesn't realize is that he has inadvertently pleaded guilty to the murder of the store clerk. When he realizes his mistake he panics and turns to a lawyer in the family--his cousin "Vinny Gambini" (Joe Pesci) who is only too happy to drive down from Brooklyn with his fiancé "Mona Lisa Vito" (Marisa Tomei) to contest his very first trial. Ever. Anyway, rather than disclose the entire story, I will just say that this is a film that is one of the best comedies of the modern era. I really enjoyed the performances of Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne ("Judge Chamberlain Haller") as both of them were hilarious. In addition to that, Marisa Tomei also put on quite a show and ended up winning an Academy Award for her performance. Now, having said all of that, I must warn viewers that some of the language may not be suitable for younger audiences. Be that as it may, if you are looking for a really good comedy--or if you're simply pondering the importance of physics--then you might want to check this film out.

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

**** (out of 4)

Terrific comedy has two youths being arrested in Alabama for a crime they didn't commit but thankfully one of them has a cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci) who just happens to be a lawyer. The thick New York accent at first doesn't sit well with the South but soon his skills come out. A lot of people seem to forget that this picture did lukewarm business at the box office and had several negative reviews when it was first release. I enjoyed the movie at the time of its release but I didn't think it was anything overly great but this is a great example of how a movie just gets better with age. Today MY COUSIN VINNY is rightfully considered one of the best comedies of its time and the performances here are just downright classic and make the film so special. Of course you've got Pesci and that terrific line delivery that adds so many laughs. Just the way he's able be to over-the-top in some of his line delivery is just flawless and the chemistry he has with the supporting cast is where much of the heart of the film comes from. Fred Gwynne plays the tough Southern judge and gets one of the greatest roles in his career and he does a remarkable job with it. The back and forth between Pesci and Gwynne is just so perfect that it never grows old no matter how many times you see the film. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei is flawless in her role as the girlfriend and we get great support from Ralph Macchio, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill and Austin Pendleton. The film has so many classic sequences that the long 118-minute running time flies by without any dry or slow moments. There's no question that the film contains some of the biggest laughs of the decade and it's also fair to call this thing a classic.