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“My Cousin Vinny” is a movie that meanders along going nowhere in particular, and then lightning strikes. I didn't get much involved in it, and yet individual moments and some of the performances were very funny. It's the kind of movie home video was invented for: Not worth the trip to the theater, but slam it into the VCR and you get your rental's worth.

The film stars Joe Pesci as a New Yorker who thinks a black knit shirt under a black leather jacket, if set off by a gold chain around the neck, is elegant courtroom attire. He might be right if he were a defendant in the Bronx, but the movie takes place in Alabama, and he's the defense attorney. His cousin ( Ralph Macchio ) and a friend ( Mitchell Whitfield ), two innocent college students on their way to school, have been charged with the murder of a convenience store owner. The circumstantial evidence looks damning, but the worst thing they have going against them is Pesci's sweeping lack of legal experience.

Although the film is set in the South and has an early shot of a sign that says “Free Horse Manure,” this is not another one of your Dixie-bashing movies. The judge ( Fred Gwynne , his face longer than ever) and prosecutor ( Lane Smith ) are civilized men who aren't trying to railroad anybody. It's just that after gunshots were heard, three different witnesses made a positive identification on the two suspects, fleeing the store in a distinctive late-1960s Buick convertible.

Pesci, who is the Macchio character's cousin Vinny, has finally passed the bar on his sixth attempt. He has no courtroom experience, and indeed no experience at all except with a few personal injury cases. He arrives in town with his girlfriend, named Mona Lisa Vito and played by Marisa Tomei as a woman who has a certain legal potential trapped inside a street-smart personality.

Pesci is so inexperienced he doesn't even know enough to stand when the judge enters the courtroom, and Whitfield, in desperation, hires another lawyer ( Austin Pendleton ) who thinks it a triumph if he can successfully complete a sentence.

The movie saves most of its best laughs for the long concluding courtroom sequence, in which one witness after another hammers together the prosecution case, and the innocent youths clearly seem headed for the electric chair. Gwynne's dour work in the courtroom scenes is especially good; in the annals of Judge Reaction Shots, which are a performance genre all their own, his work ranks high.

But we never feel much for, or about, the two accused prisoners. Macchio, who has been effective in “ The Karate Kid ” (1984) and “ Crossroads ,” is used here essentially as a foil. He and Whitfield sit at the defense table and look worried, and that's about that.

Pesci and Tomei, on the other hand, create a quirky relationship that I liked. Neither one is played as a dummy. They're smart, in their own ways, but involved in a legal enterprise they are completely unprepared for. Tomei's surprise appearance as an expert witness is a high point, and left me feeling I would like to see this couple again. Maybe in a screenplay that was more focused.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Rated R For Language

119 minutes

Joe Pesci as Vinny Gambini

Ralph Macchio as Bill Gambini

Mitchell Whitfield as Stan Rothenstein

Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito

Directed by

• Jonathan Lynn

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My cousin vinny, common sense media reviewers.

Courtroom comedy will appeal to teens. Some strong language.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Honesty, loyalty, and playing by the rules triumph

Leading characters demonstrate courage, resourcefu

A character fires a pistol into the air several ti

A few loving kisses between an engaged couple. The

Frequent cursing throughout. Many uses and permuta

Bush's beans are center focus in one sequence.

Judge smokes. Lawyer has a drink in hand while on

Parents need to know that the language is crude throughout. Because the film's humor and story are appealing to older tweens and teens, it's regrettable that the filmmakers illustrate the "fish out of water" nature of the leading characters with so much swearing and rough language.

Positive Messages

Honesty, loyalty, and playing by the rules triumph. People who take advantage of others and prey on those weaker than themselves can be conquered by intelligence and confidence. It's not always possible to judge a person's worth by exterior appearances.

Positive Role Models

Leading characters demonstrate courage, resourcefulness, a sense of fair play, and smarts despite the fact that they look ignorant and in over their heads when we first meet them. The sheriff and court officials prove to be honest and impartial, unlike those characterized in most comedies about the Southern justice system.

Violence & Scariness

A character fires a pistol into the air several times in anger. One well-aimed punch in the jaw. There's a detailed verbal description of deer hunting.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A few loving kisses between an engaged couple. They are also seen nestling together in bed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent cursing throughout. Many uses and permutations of "s--t," "f---k," as well as "dickhead," "ass," "goddamn it," "balls," etc. The language is used as a device to define the characters, their backgrounds, and street credentials.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Bush's beans are center focus in one sequence. Other products shown briefly are: Canon, Coca Cola, Mother's Cookies, and some beer.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Judge smokes. Lawyer has a drink in hand while on the phone.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the language is crude throughout. Because the film's humor and story are appealing to older tweens and teens, it's regrettable that the filmmakers illustrate the "fish out of water" nature of the leading characters with so much swearing and rough language. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (18)
• Kids say (41)

Based on 18 parent reviews

Classic / Humor, but language in released version a bit harsh for many potential viewers.

Unnecessarily foul language, what's the story.

When two college-bound New York boys are mistakenly arrested for murder in a small Alabama town, Vinny (J oe Pesci ), who is a cousin of one of the boys and who has recently passed the bar after six tries, is called to the rescue. Vinny and his fiancee, Mona Lisa ( Marisa Tomei ), street-savvy "declasse" Italians from the big city, arrive to take on the town's earnest legal establishment and the serious circumstantial evidence against the young men. It's a ferocious battle between Eastern street smarts and Southern propriety. The two cultures meet head on with both boys' freedom at stake.

Is It Any Good?

Vinny is a role tailor-made for Joe Pesci; he relishes the part, and makes a meal of every courtroom speech and every close encounter with the soul of Alabama. Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for her portrayal of Mona Lisa Vito, and she lights up the screen with her warm, overtly sensuous, yet wise performance. In what must be a first for a legal courtroom farce set in The South, the judge and the law enforcement officers are not played as buffoons or bigots, but honorable and out to administer justice.

There are some very funny moments, indelible characterizations, and memorable lines (no one will forget Vinny's description of America's "yoots."). The plot turns, however, are purposefully silly and far-fetched. Still, it's a delight to watch the two leads see beyond the circumstantial and use their well-hidden mental acuity to win over the hearts and minds of their opponents and the audience.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about snap judgments. What are the filmmakers trying to say about first impressions and stereotyping? How did both Vinny and Mona Lisa belie their appearances?

How was the Southern sheriff unlike other typical movie depictions of small-town Southern sheriffs?

Do you think you were supposed to believe that this story could really happen? What are some of the clues that the filmmakers used to show that it was a fairy tale or farce and not to be taken seriously?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 13, 1992
• On DVD or streaming : July 25, 2000
• Cast : Joe Pesci , Marisa Tomei , Ralph Macchio
• Director : Jonathan Lynn
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
• Genre : Comedy
• Run time : 120 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : language
• Last updated : May 11, 2024

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‘my cousin vinny’: thr’s 1992 review.

On March 13, 1992, 20th Century Fox unveiled the comedy in theaters, featuring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei.

By Duane Byrge

Duane Byrge

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On March 13, 1992, 20th Century Fox introduced My Cousin Vinny in theaters, featuring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei (who claimed a best supporting actor win at the 65th  Academy Awards for her role). The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below.

You can take the guy out of Brooklyn but not Brooklyn out of the guy, even in Alabama. A comedy about a brash, big-city Yankee who drops into a small Southern town to plead a case — no, we’re not talking about Pat Buchanan’s political foray into Mississippian this week —  My Cousin  Vinny  is a terrific variation on the fish-out-of-water/man-from-Mars story formula.

Starring Joe  Pesci  as a slicker in the land of grits,  My Cousin  Vinny   should tickle funny bones in every region and ring out a green spring for  20th  Century Fox at the box office.

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Even if you’re not a Southern state trooper, Vincent  Gambini , Esq. ( Pesci ) — with his black-on-black duds and gold chain, perched in his mammoth gas guzzler —  is the type of out-of-state runt you’d love to nail with a speeding ticket. In screenwriter Dale  Launer’s  shrewd scenario, the reason for  Vinny’s  Dixie drive is that his distant relation (Ralph  Macchio ) and college buddy (Mitchell Whitfield) have been locked up in Alabama for, well, murder.

In actuality, they mistakenly took a can of tuna from a grocer but coincidental circumstances and the vagaries of small-town justice have slammed the two college boys into the Big House.

With no money for Alan Dershowitz, they’re stuck with cousin Vinny who will represent them, pro bono, which in Brooklynese means for “no f—ing money.” Not that Vinny’s some major East Coast altruist — he’s never tried a case before and considers a murder-one trial a good learning experience.

Vinny’s major learning comes both in court, where he finds the judge (Fred Gwynne) is not only a procedural perfectionist but a sartorial stickler as well (Vinny’s black leather ware must go) and in the town, where he finds the day begins at 5:30 a.m. when the whistle blows and the hogs rise.

The nights, well, they’re filled with hoot owls, animal yelpings, trains and other noisery that propel Vinny into an extended state of agitated insomnia. The little guy gets a tad surly, snapping even at his saucy, supportive girlfriend (Marisa Tomei), whose biological clock is also ticking loudly.

Screenwriter Launer tightens the comic coil around Vinny and then, masterfully, lets him unravel. It’s a pleasing comedic progression, gyrating and spurting with crazy comedy and energy, but ultimately realized because the warring principal characters are all, despite their regional peccadillos, decent and likable people. No loathsome “Super” jerk, Vinny is a winning character and Pesci’s performance as the beleaguered litigant is terrific — cranked yet cuddly.

Director Jonathan Lynn has skillfully tapped the players’ talents here: Gwynne, as the deliberate judge, is a hoot with his agitations from the bench, while Tomei as Vinny’s solid-brass girlfriend is wonderful. As Mona Lisa Vito, Tomei is one Mona Lisa whose countenance is not open to varied interpretations — you know what’s on her mind. — Duane Byrge, originally published on March 2, 1992

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My Cousin Vinny

Where to Watch

Joe Pesci (Vinny Gambini) Marisa Tomei (Mona Lisa Vito) Ralph Macchio (Bill Gambini) Mitchell Whitfield (Stan Rothenstein) Fred Gwynne (Judge Chamberlain Haller) Lane Smith (Jim Trotter III) Austin Pendleton (John Gibbons) Bruce McGill (Sheriff Farley) Maury Chaykin (Sam Tipton) Paulene Myers (Constance Riley)

Jonathan Lynn

Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience.

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My Cousin Vinny Reviews

The film has been praised by lawyers as one of the more realistic movies about the justice system and the lawyer profession, and certainly one of the most successful ones at drawing humor from a courtroom setting (35th anniversary)

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 19, 2022

...a minor gem of a movie, without pretention, but smart and clever in the way the narrative brings all sides together in the on-going search for justice....

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 12, 2022

While it certainly does feed into some stereotypes, it seems to do so with a certain amount of affection.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 17, 2020

Thanks to director Lynn's own legal expertise, a level of authenticity amusingly lingers amidst the drama, clever personas, alluring storyline, and convivial performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 16, 2020

In My Cousin Vinny, a careless miscarriage of justice serves as the premise for a courtroom comedy that is funnier than it has any right to be.

Full Review | Oct 9, 2019

My Cousin Vinny proves that well-written and superbly delivered jokes belong in comedies.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 6, 2019

My Cousin Vinny slumps badly as the courtroom scenes drag on; but when Tomei is on screen, even the jury wakes up.

Full Review | Jan 4, 2018

Vinny is a winning character and Pesci's performance as the beleaguered litigant is terrific - cranked yet cuddly.

Full Review | Mar 13, 2017

The undercurrent of fish-out-of-water silliness goes a long way towards perpetuating the affable atmosphere...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 24, 2015

With such canny scene-stealers as Gwynne, Smith, Pendleton, McGill and Chaykin filling out the cast, it is very hard for My Cousin Vinny to go wrong, and indeed, for the purpose of pleasant Saturday night entertainment, it does not.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 30, 2014

Marisa Tomei, as Vinny's fiance, imbues the most obligatory reactions with either a startling ferocity or a farcical ambiguity worthy of her character's name: Mona Lisa Vito.

Full Review | Apr 30, 2014

The movie sags as Vinny sets out to demolish the patently shaky case and dubious witnesses for the prosecution. Pesci does his best, but a lawyer's suit on him becomes a straitjacket.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 30, 2014

As Vincent Gambini, a swaggering pint-sized New York lawyer who only recently passed the bar on his sixth try, Pesci modulates his usual psycho-nuttiness and gives it some recognizably human, even melancholy, undertones.

Nothing makes a moviegoer feel more isolated than sitting stony-faced through a comedy that makes the rest of the audience laugh and cheer.

The pacing is brisk and the energy of the performances is so palpable that even at its silliest and most contrived, the film is enjoyable.

My Cousin Vinny is a hoot.

The regional stereotypes in Dale Launer's broad script aren't so laudable, but the on-screen talent merits a retrial: Tomei talks up a storm and Pesci terrorises thinly spread gags into near-shape.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 30, 2014

For all of its grossly stereotypical characterizations and cheap laughs, My Cousin Vinny does benefit from Pesci's characteristically energetic performance. And co-star Tomei looks very nice in a clinging blue dress with gold lame applique.

I don't want to oversell My Cousin Vinny. It's hardly brilliant. But it's easygoing and occasionally quite funny and ultimately satisfying.

[An] enjoyable fish-out-of-water comedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 30, 2014

"We waste our money so you don't have to."

"We waste our money, so you don't have to."

Movie Review

My cousin vinny.

US Release Date: 03-13-1992

Directed by: Jonathan Lynn

Starring ▸ ▾

• Joe Pesci ,  as
• Vinny Gambini
• Ralph Macchio ,  as
• Bill Gambini
• Marisa Tomei ,  as
• Mona Lisa Vito
• Mitchell Whitfield ,  as
• Stan Rothenstein
• Fred Gwynne ,  as
• Judge Chamberlain Haller
• Lane Smith ,  as
• Jim Trotter III
• Austin Pendleton ,  as
• John Gibbons
• Bruce McGill ,  as
• Sheriff Farley
• Maury Chaykin as

Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny .

My Cousin Vinny was a hit when it was released in 1992, but is really only remembered today as the movie for which Marisa Tomei won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. What really makes that memorable is that she won it for a comedic performance rather than a dramatic one. She's definitely a highlight, but the movie in general is funny, fairly charming and holds up pretty well nearly 20 years after its release.

Young Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein are driving from Brooklyn to California and decide to take the long southern back road route instead of the highway (it's a weak decision, but necessary for the setup). Shortly after visiting a convenience store in Alabama they are wrongfully arrested for the murder of the convenience store clerk. Unable to pay for an attorney, Bill's cousin Vinny, a newly minted lawyer who took six years to pass the Bar Exam, comes to their assistance, bringing his girlfriend with him.

Vinny, as played by Joe Pesci, is from Brooklyn. No, he is Brooklyn. Think every cliche you ever heard about Brooklyn and Vinny embodies it. Italian, strong accent, leather coat, gold jewelry and you know he has mob connections somewhere. His girlfriend, Mona Lisa Vito (Tomei) is equally as stereotypically Brooklyn.

The big city slicker coming to a small town filled with characters who spout homespun wisdom has been done to death in Hollywood and generally the writers pick one side or the other to highlight. Either the small town folk are all inbred idiots or the city slicker is an asshole who learns that life would be better if only they slowed down and smelled the roses. For the most part, My Cousin Vinny manages to avoid that trap. While a lot of the jokes are fish out of water jokes, the townspeople and Vinny are shown to be different without insulting either side, or maybe I should say, by insulting both sides equally.

My biggest problem with this movie is that Joe Pesci, while he is very funny in the role, is far too old for this part and he looks it. He's 21 years older than Tomei and was nearly 50 here. Reportedly DeNiro and DeVito were both considered for the part, but both of them would have been too old as well. Apart from his age, Pesci does a good job, but the scenes between he and Tomei never ring true. Far better are his moments with Fred Gwynne (in his final role) as the judge. Their scenes together are some of the funniest in the film. It isn't so much that Pesci couldn't play the part, but the script should have acknowledged his age.

Tomei is cute and funny and her wardrobe alone deserved an award. Her part is fairly small though, and while she does a good job with it, if you didn't know she won an Oscar for it, you'd never guess it. I'm glad to see a comedy get an Oscar, but she never has that moment where you think, "Wow, she's amazing." Good? Definitely. Oscar worthy? Ehhh.

The movie also runs nearly two hours in length, which is a bit long for a comedy, but the pacing is so good, it doesn't really feel that long. Maybe there could have been a slightly tighter editing job, but it's not a major problem.

Cute and funny, My Cousin Vinny is one of those quintessentially 1990s movies, but it stands up pretty well today.

Marisa Tomei, Fred Gwynne, and Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny .

Melissa Tomei is indeed wonderful, and a regular little scene stealer, as Mona Lisa Vitto. Whether asking about Chinese food, complaining about her biological clock ticking, or giving expert testimony on automobiles... “'Cause Chevy didn't make a 327 in '55, the 327 didn't come out till '62. And it wasn't offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb till '64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top-dead-center.” she is never less than hilarious.

Her funniest scene to me is when Vinny tells her he's going hunting with the prosecuting attorney. Her wide-eyed, indignant response is priceless. “Whoa. You're gonna shoot a deer? A sweet, innocent, harmless, leaf-eating, doe-eyed little deer.” For my money she deserved the Oscar and like Scott I found it refreshing that she won it for this comic gem of a role.

Joe Pesci may have been a bit too old but he pulls it off with such panache that it hardly matters. It is certainly plausible that Vinny didn't even enter Law School until he was over 30 and, as Scott mentioned, they make it clear that it took him six years and an equal number of attempts to pass the Bar. Regardless of his age he's great in the part.

Not since Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion has a Brooklyn accent been funnier than Pesci's as Vincent LaGuardia Gambini. His back and forth with the judge over the word “yute” is hilarious. “Uh... did you say 'yutes'? What is a yute?” “Oh, excuse me, your honor... Two YOUTHS.” He really carries the movie with his outward bravado that fails to hide his inner insecurities. Fred Gwynne is terrific as the conservative by-the-book Judge Chamberlain Haller. I appreciated the fact that the movie doesn't turn him into a villainous caricature. His dry delivery and droopy face contrast nicely with Pesci's hyperactive style.

For a comedy this movie has often been cited for its realistic portrayal of courtroom procedure. It has been noted that Vinny is terrible at the things that are actually taught in Law School (at least at the beginning of the movie anyway) but he is a natural at those things not taught in Law School. And the script really keeps you guessing as to just how Vinny is going to exonerate his clients. There are a few clues given away earlier in the story but it is never predictable or obvious.

The courtroom drama has long been a sub-genre in film. I've never heard of the term courtroom comedy but if there is such a category, My Cousin Vinny belongs near the top of the list.

Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny

Tomei’s performance and Oscar win is not that surprising. Look at Whoopie Goldberg’s supporting Oscar win for Ghost (1990) or Kevin Kline’s for A Fish Called Wanda (1988).  All of these roles are not only that of the comic relief but are not wholly likable on the surface. Otto is an obnoxious idiot criminal, Oda Mae Brown is a con artist and Mona Lisa Vito is an annoying stereotype.  However, in the hands of these actors, these three otherwise tiresome characters become not only likable but scene stealers.

Joe Pesci is too old for Tomei but not too old for the role. He passes for 40 and by making Vinny older he appears more pathetic. Vinny is basically a loser who, through the events of this film, becomes a winner. If the role was played by a good looking twenty something actor, Vinny would not come across as pitiful. I agree with Scott that mentioning Vinny’s obvious middle age would not have hurt but neither does ignoring it. Besides, Pesci is too good in the role to hold his age against him.

In fact, as adorable and charming as she is, I will argue that it is Tomei that is too young for the role. The part of Mona Lisa was originally offered to Lorraine Bracco, who is some ten years older than Tomei. A thirty something Bracco complaining of wanting to get married would hold more water than a whining twenty something. I am with Patrick, Pesci may have been a bit too old or Tomei a bit too young but they both make it work to comic perfection. Their interactions are the highlights of the movie.

When Vinny puts Mona Lisa on the stand and asks her a question, Mona Lisa simply crosses her arms in defiance. The Judge says to her, “Would you please answer the counselor's question?” Mona Lisa responds, “No, I hate him.” These two young men’s lives are on the line and she can only think of her feelings. The biological ticking clock argument is classic. It ends with Vinny yelling, “BIOLOGICAL CLOCK - my career, your life, our marriage, and let me see, what else can we pile on? Is there any more SHIT we can pile on to the top of the outcome of this case? Is it possible?” After a comic pause, Mona Lisa says calmly, “Maybe it was a bad time to bring it up.”

If you think about the ages of the cast and the circumstances of the case being tried, you can easily find fault. However, this movie is too good to complain about. My Cousin Vinny not only works inspite of its flaws, it thrives on them and I count this as one of the best comedies of the 1990s.

Photos © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox (1992)

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Review/Film; A Flashy New Lawyer in an Unflashy Town

By Vincent Canby

• March 13, 1992

It's easy to recommend "My Cousin Vinny" from the moment, early on, when Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei), a vivid young woman from Brooklyn with a fondness for overstated clothes, gets out of the car of her longtime fiance, Vinny Gambini (Joe Pesci), in Wahzoo, Ala. Her first remark, uttered as a kind of informed hunch: "I bet the Chinese food in this town is terrible."

It's even easier when Vinny, a New York lawyer who passed his bar examination six weeks earlier (after six tries), starts to prepare his case, which is to defend his nephew and his nephew's pal, who have been charged with a capital offense. It is not only Vinny's first time in Alabama, but also his first time inside a courtroom as a lawyer.

His black leather jacket, black sweater and gold chains offend the judge (Fred Gwynne). When Vinny refers to the young defendants as "these two yutes," the judge behaves as if Vinny is speaking an especially esoteric Balkan dialect.

"My Cousin Vinny" is easily the most inventive and enjoyable American film farce in a long time, even during those extended patches when it seems to be marking time or when it continues with a running gag that can't stay the distance.

The film has a secure and sophisticated sense of what makes farce so delicious, which may not be surprising, since its credentials are about as impeccable as you can find in the peccable atmosphere of Hollywood.

It was written by Dale Launer, who wrote "Ruthless People" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," and directed by Jonathan Lynn, the Englishman who wrote and directed "Nuns on the Run" and collaborated on the scripts for the English television series "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister." They are very funny men.

"My Cousin Vinny" takes a little while to get going. Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield), a couple of innocent young New Yorkers, are driving through Alabama on their way to college when they stop at a convenience store for supplies. As a lark, Bill shoplifts a can of tunafish.

When they are stopped a short time later by the county sheriff (Bruce McGill) and hauled off to jail, Bill confesses. "Was it premeditated?" asks the sheriff. Bill says it was just a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. Says the sheriff, "We're going to run enough electricity through you to light up Birmingham."

Bill and Stan don't know it, but they've just been booked for the murder of the convenience store operator, who was very much alive when they left him. Thus begin the succession of epic misunderstandings and the talking at cross-purposes that keep one laughing with "My Cousin Vinny" past the point of absolute necessity.

The cast is very good. Mr. Pesci, recently the embodiment of out-of-control evil in "Goodfellas" and a burglar of singular ineptitude in "Home Alone," is a puzzled delight as he attempts to gather his wits, being helped not at all by Mona Lisa's loudly articulated common sense and her ability to read law books and retain their contents.

Ms. Tomei, who appeared with Sylvester Stallone in "Oscar," gives every indication of being a fine comedian, whether towering over Mr. Pesci and trying to look small, or arguing about a leaky faucet in terms that demonstrate her knowledge of plumbing. Mona Lisa is also a first-rate auto mechanic, which comes in handy in the untying of the knotted story.

Mr. Gwynne heads the collection of fine comic actors who appear in the supporting roles: Mr. McGill; Lane Smith as the courtly district attorney, and Austin Pendleton, who plays a sincerely motivated public defender whose only impediment is one of speech: he stutters under stress.

As sometimes happens in a farce, the characters around whom the action rages are played stoically (by Mr. Macchio and Mr. Whitfield), although their import to the proceedings is forgotten for long periods of time. My Cousin Vinny

Directed by Jonathan Lynn; written by Dale Launer; director of photography, Peter Deming; edited by Tony Lombardo; music by Randy Edelman; production designer, Victoria Paul; produced by Mr. Launer and Paul Schiff; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 119 minutes. This film is rated R. Vinny Gambini . . . Joe Pesci Bill Gambini . . . Ralph Macchio Mona Lisa Vito . . . Marisa Tomei Stan Rothenstein . . . Mitchell Whitfield Judge Chamberlain Haller . . . Fred Gwynne Jim Trotter III . . . Lane Smith John Gibbons . . . Austin Pendleton "My Cousin Vinny" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes much vulgar language.

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‘My Cousin Vinny’ holds up 25 years later | movie review

25 years later,  my cousin vinny  remains one of the funniest and sharpest comedies from the 90s with one of the best comedic ensembles of all-time..

Twenty-five years later,  My Cousin Vinny  remains one of the funniest and sharpest comedies from the 90s with one of the best comedic ensembles of all-time. However, it’s the engrossing story and Oscar-winning performance from Marisa Tomei that really sets it apart.

If there is one thing comedy filmmakers in the 80s and 90s loved, it was “fish out of water” movies — that wonderfully simple plot device where you put a character in a scenario, time, or place that’s completely alien to them. Just take a look at some of the biggest movies from the time period —  Back to the Future,  Beverly Hills Cop, City Slickers . But for me, one always rose above the rest. Whether it’s because I was exposed to it way too early in life — thanks, Mom and Dad — or because it’s such an easy scenario to pull comedy out of,  My Cousin Vinny  remains one of my favorite comedies of all time.

Billy Gambini ( Ralph Macchio ) and Stan Rothenstein ( Mitchel Whitfield ) are on a road trip visiting colleges in their green 1964 Buick Skylark convertible. As they are driving through Alabama, they stop at a convenience store to get snacks. Soon after they leave, someone robs the store and shoots the clerk. Billy and Stan are pulled over and arrested by the police who suspect they committed the crime. After a confusing — and hilarious — interrogation scene where Billy accidentally confesses to the murder — he thought the police were referring to a can of tuna he forgot to pay for — the duo is arrested for murder. And since it’s the deep south, they have the death penalty.

Chloé Zhao makes Nomadland ‘s melancholic but hopeful story of nomads traversing the American West a stunningly complex character study of life on the margins of society.

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Fear not, though, Billy happens to have a lawyer in the family — his cousin Vinny ( Joe Pesci ). The one problem is that Vinny has never been to trial and thinks that this murder trial will be “a good learning experience.” Unfortunately for him, he has to deal with the by-the-books judge ( Fred Gwynne ), his saucy girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito ( Marisa Tomei ), and hogs, factory whistles, and trains that wake him up a 5:30 every morning.

Screenwriter Dale Launer had the difficult task of balancing an actually compelling courtroom comedy with the New Yorker in the deep south premise that underlines the story. He succeeds because he doesn’t place the comedy in the scenario. Instead, he places it in the characters. The movie has actually been praised by lawyers for its accuracy in legal strategy and courtroom procedure with Max Kennerly saying, “the movie is close to reality even in its details. Part of why the film has such staying power among lawyers is because, unlike, say, A Few Good Men , everything that happens in the movie could happen—and often does happen—at trial.” The scenario and story aren’t ridiculous, but Vinny Gambino and  Mona Lisa Vito certainly are.

Joe Pesci is integral to the success of the movie as the easily riled-up Brooklynite Vinny. Perpetually cranky and completely out of his depth, Pesci’s Vinny is churlish, but you can’t help but love and root for him. That’s because Pesci makes Vinny endearing, in a way. Past his black-on-black outfit, gold chains, and thick New York accent is a man with insecurities and a good heart. But a key element to making Vinny a successful character is his supportive, but equally bombastic girlfriend Mona Lisa. Marisa Tomei, who shockingly won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the role, deserved every bit of the award. Case in point, the “biological clock” monologue. It’s a ridiculous scene and Tomei plays it to its full worth — yelling, stomping, and all. But where most comedic actors would leave it there and call it a day, Tomei ends the rant with a face of desperation that adds real weight to what she just said. Their banter and relationship are the lifeblood of the film.

Of course, though, Launer also gives them comedy gold to work with. It’s not even the one-liners that are the funniest parts.He’s incredibly patient. One of my favorite jokes involves Stan being sexually assaulted in the prison. He spends an entire scene outlining that fear. Then, in the next scene, Vinny arrives while Bill is sleeping. Stan mistakingly thinks he’s there to sleep with them. Then, comedy ensues. It seems like every joke Launer sets up for the characters is followed by a payoff performed with incredible timing by the actors and is well worth the wait.

Nowadays, it’s expecting to have a scene-stealer — Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids , Zack Galifinakis in The Hangover — but it seems that every supporting performer steals their scene. It’s nearly impossible not to break down laughing when Austin Pendleton, as a public defender Stan has hired, stammers through his opening statement or when Bruce McGill as the town sheriff tries to coerce a confession out of Bill and Stan. But I’m adamant in saying that Fred Gwynne gives one of the best Supporting performances in a comedy ever. From his facial expressions to his line delivery — “what’s a yout?”— it’s a masterclass in making the most of the material you’re given.

Comedy movies have a hard time standing the test of time — tastes change, attitudes change, society changes. Still, 25 years later, My Cousin Vinny remains a deliciously hilarious courtroom romp. You could probably shave 20 minutes off the running time and the second half is definitely stronger than the first, but comedies aren’t made like this anymore. Screenwriters have become so obsessed with one-liners that the set-up/punchline joke has been all but irradiated. Well, My Cousin Vinny proves that well-written and superbly delivered jokes belong in comedies. Do yourself a favor, watch this movie and be delighted for a couple hours. I mean, you “youts” need some quality comedies in your lives.

My Cousin Vinny  is available for digital rental on Amazon!

Karl Delossantos

Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.

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• Karl Delossantos https://smashcutreviews.com/author/karldelogmail-com/ 2014 Oscar Predictions: Best Director (Is Alfonso Cuarón a Lock to Win?)

My Cousin Vinny Review

01 Jan 1992

115 minutes

My Cousin Vinny

As proven by Nothing But Trouble and Doc Hollywood, it's never a good idea to drive through rural America and irritate local lawmen. It is especially not a good idea, as a couple of students (Macchio and Whitfield) find out, to be picked up for murdering a store clerk and then confess to the crime under the impression that you're owning up to the accidental shoplifting of a can of tunafish.

However, Macchio has a cousin who is a lawyer, and no sooner has he made his one phone call than Vinny (Pesci) is turning up, with his microskirted Brooklynite girlfriend (Tomei), the kind of woman who says "axe" when she means "ask". Vinny is instantly irritating the crusty old judge (Fred Gwynne) due to hear the case by strutting into the courtroom in a black leather medallion-man outfit and demonstrating absolutely no legal finesse whatsoever. As the kids get lined up for the chair, Vinny, who has been practicing for six whole weeks, has to learn elementary courtroom procedures from a reference book.

Directed by Jonathan "Yes Minister" Lynn with flavourless competence, this has obviously been crafted as an excuse to give superstar supporting actor Pesci a rare lead role after his showings in Goodfellas and JFK, which means that he does the usual heavy-to-hero trick of mixing a little sentiment in with the obnoxious wisecracks.

The plot premise is every bit as ridiculous as you'd expect, with Vinny instantly turning overnight from moronic schlub to Perry Mason, springing surprise witnesses, puncturing testimony and finally cracking the case with a bit of expert advice from his girlfriend, who is fortuitously a walking mine of information on classic cars. Pesci is funnier than his material, and Marisa Tomei, after paying her dues with bits in Oscar and The Flamingo Kid, walks off with the whole film with her sexy whine and outrageous big city girl outfits, as if a creature from a Troma movie had landed in an episode of Barnaby Jones.

Why My Cousin Vinny is the Best Law Movie

Discover why My Cousin Vinny deserves to be considered among the best law movies ever made.

Directed by Jonathan Lynn from a screenplay by Dale Launer, My Cousin Vinny was released in March 1992. The critically acclaimed and commercially successful courtroom comedy follows the unlawful arrest of Bill (Ralph Macchio) and Stan (Mitchell Whitfield), two New Yorkers wrongly accused of murder while passing through Alabama. With few options to turn to, Bill recruits his cousin Vincent LaGuardia Gambini (Joe Pesci) to represent him and Stan in court, despite lacking experience in a murder trial and generally having no clue what he's doing.

Equal parts a fish-out-of-water story and a romantic comedy, My Cousin Vinny won a controversial Academy Award for Marisa Tomei's outstanding performance as Mona Lisa Vito, Vinny's strong, sassy, and supremely intelligent girlfriend who helps him defend Bill and Stan in the court of law. Indeed, it's precisely the courtroom action and legal drama that takes place in the film that, in retrospect, has led to the film ranking among the all-time greatest law movies on record. For those who remain unconvinced, here's why My Cousin Vinny should be considered among the greatest legal dramas ever made.

Highly Educational

The first reason why My Cousin Vinny deserves to rank among the best courtroom dramas is how educational it is from start to finish. When Vinny is introduced, he claims he has experience as a personal injury lawyer. However, when pressed to reveal his record, Vinny states he's never actually won a court case and has zero experience representing a client in a trial, much less one as high stakes as a murder trial. As far as the legal process is concerned, Vinny is utterly clueless when the movie begins. Vinny is even oblivious to things as simple as a dress code and using lean language in a court of law.

As the film unfolds, great efforts are made to educate the audience about the confusing legalese as Vinny continues to study and improve his own understanding of the law. By vicariously educating viewers about the basics of courtroom procedure through Vinny's own learning process, almost everyone comes away with a much better grasp of how murder trials operate. The movie slowly holds viewers' hands and walks them through the fundamental aspects of courtroom procedure, culling nuggets of truth about the process as Vinny finds his bearings and figures out how to win the case.

Courtroom Procedure

Speaking of the courtroom procedure in My Cousin Vinny, it's worth noting that director Jonathan Lynn holds a law degree from Cambridge ( via Abnormal Use ). Due to Lynn's own sharp legal mind, the movie has been praised for the detailed legal procedure featured in the film, which allows Vinny to find his way and enables the viewers to understand the granular process that many law movies skip, gloss over, or take for granted.

For example, Vinny is held in contempt of court several times by Judge Haller (Fred Gwynn) for lacking courtroom decorum and failing to cross-examine a witness in a preliminary hearing, and is even fired and replaced by a pro bono public defender. According to the legal textbook A Guide to Forensic Testimony As an Expert Technical Witness , the authors explain how My Cousin Vinny is an "Entertaining [and] extremely helpful introduction to the art of presenting expert witnesses at trial for both beginning experts and litigators." Supporting the sentiment, Paul Bergman's essay, "Teaching Evidence the 'Reel' Way" cites My Cousin Vinny as an example of demonstrating such courtroom procedures as the rules of evidence, cross-examination, relevance, and voir dire. In addition to learning in stride with Vinny in the popular '90s comedy , the movie makes the legal process easy and accessible to understand.

Legal Accuracy

The chief reason why My Cousin Vinny is the best law movie is its airtight legal accuracy and authenticity. According to lawyer Max Kennerly in his essay " Every Young Lawyer Needs to Watch My Cousin Vinny " ( via Litigation and Trial ), "The movie is close to reality even in its details. Part of why the film has such staying power among lawyers is because, unlike, say, A Few Good Me n, everything that happens in the movie could happen - and often does happen - at trial."

Best Joe Pesci Movies, Ranked

One of the most authentic courtroom moments in the movie involves prosecutor Jim Trotter suddenly bringing out FBI analyst George Wilbur as a surprise witness, forcing Vinny to object to no avail. Another entails Vinny using the cultural knowledge he's gained at a local Alabama diner to question a witness' testimony regarding the time it takes to cook southern grits. Perhaps the best example includes Mona Lisa poring over photographs she missed the first time around and spotting a damning piece of evidence. This sense of accuracy is supported by prominent American Judge Richard Posner, who declared that My Cousin Vinny "is particularly rich in practice tips: how a criminal defense lawyer must stand his ground against a hostile judge, even at the cost of exasperating the judge." ( via Law & Literature ).

Cross-Examination

Thanks to his time on task and Mona Lisa's expertise, Vinny becomes more adept at cross-examination as the quotable '90s film unfolds. For instance, when Vinny cross-examines George Wilbur, he gets the FBI witness to admit that the tires on Bill and Stan's car are the most popular in the world, thereby reducing their chances of guilt. It's precisely Vinny's methodology that has led some of the brightest legal minds in America to agree that My Cousin Vinny stands head and shoulders above most courtroom dramas.

According to U.S. Federal Judge Joseph F. Anderson in his work " Ten Things Every Trial Lawyer Could Learn From Vincent LaGuardia Gambini ," Vinny's courtroom tactics are "a textbook example" of Irving Younger's "10 Commandments of Cross-Examination" and especially praised the role of an expert witness testifying in a federal case. Anderson wrote that Lynn and Launer "Have given our profession a wonderful teaching tool while producing a gem of a movie that gives the public at large renewed faith in the common law trial and the adversarial system as the best way to determine the truth and achieve justice." Even the current U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland, publicly stated, "In 1992, Vincent Gambini taught a master class in cross-examination" ( via UScourts.gov ).

Anti-Death-Penalty Stance

While it's one thing to hear from the leading legal minds in the country, it's quite another to hear from the filmmakers themselves. According to an interview by Abnormal Interviews , director Jonathan Lynn believes that a large part of the movie's appeal has to do with his stance against the death penalty, which is neither preachy nor pedantic. Lynn also believes that lawyers love the movie because, unlike his 1997 legal farce Trial and Error , "there aren't any bad guys." Even the judge and prosecutor who oppose Vinny genuinely seek justice, which gives the movie a high replay value.

10 New Legal Dramas to Watch Now If You Miss Suits

In the interview, Lynn claims he and Launer sought to make the legal procedure in My Cousin Vinny as accurate as possible, comparing it favorably to the absurdity of Trial and Error , a movie that nobody has ever accused of being the best law movie ever made. In addition to the movie's advocacy and authenticity, Lynn also states that he believes the distinction between unreliable eyewitness testimony and reliable expert witness testimony is why My Cousin Vinny has withstood the test of time.

The Humor & Performances

It's impossible to discuss the lasting merits of My Cousin Vinny without mentioning the powerhouse performances by Pesci and Tomei and the laugh-out-loud hysterics that ensue. The comedic timing and sizzling onscreen chemistry between Pesci and Tomei is an absolute delight to behold, with the culmination of their break-up-and-make-up taking place in court as they solve the case together serving as one of the screenplay's highlights.

While it's no surprise Pesci gives such a hilarious turn after showcasing his comedic chops in Goodfellas and Home Alone , it's Tomei's revelatory tour-de-force in the movie that really deserves the most praise. Tomei famously experienced blowback after winning what many believed at the time was an undeserving Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Over time, Tomei has been vindicated for her hilarious and heartfelt performance in My Cousin Vinny as an undeniable strength of the movie. With lesser performances built around Vinny and Mona Lisa's humorous rapport, the movie would be remembered far less fondly.

In addition to Tomei's Oscar victory, the lasting legacy of My Cousin Vinny solidifies its spot as the preeminent legal drama. In 2008, the legal publication ABA Journal listed My Cousin Vinny as #3 on their list of the "25 Greatest Legal Dramas." In 2010, the same journal named Vinny Gambini as #12 on their list of the "25 Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Who Are Not Atticus Finch)."

In 2012, Launer wrote a screenplay for a My Cousin Vinny sequel, which involved Gambini practicing law in the U.K. Tomei was initially attached to the project but dropped out. When a new writer was brought in to create a story without Mona Lisa Vito, the project was ultimately shelved ( via Abnormal Interviews ). In 2017, novelist Lawrence Kelter began a series of books featuring Gamibini taking on contemporary cases with Mona Lisa as his investigator. After his first novel Back to Brooklyn , Kelter novelized the events seen in My Cousin Vinny . The latest entry, entitled Wing and a Prayer , was published in 2020. The fact that a movie sequel was attempted 20 years later and a novel series was created 25 years after its release should tell fans everything they need to know about the staying power of My Cousin Vinny as the best law movie ever made.

MY COUSIN VINNY

What You Need To Know:

(LLL, V, SS, M) Over 50 obscenities & 15 profanities; brief violence in striking person; implied sexual immorality, but no fornication or nudity shown (couple living together); and, theft.

More Detail:

MY COUSIN VINNY opens with Bill Gambini and his friend, Stan, buying groceries in a Sac o’ Suds convenience store in Alabama. On the way out, Bill steals a can of tuna. In the car, they joke about the tuna until a policeman pulls them over. Soon, they discover that they are being held for the clerk’s murder at the Sac o’ Suds whereupon Bill contacts his family’s lawyer, Vinny Gambini, to defend them. The fun begins as Vinny and his fiancee, Lisa, arrive in Wazoo, Alabama, in their beat-up New York car and with their obvious Brooklyn dress, speech and mannerisms. Vinny’s ignorance and talking back to the judge puts him in contempt of court: three times! Things really heat up for Bill and Stan as three “eye witnesses” against them are brought forward at the trial. In an amazing turn of events, Cousin Vinny comes through for them.

MY COUSIN VINNY is really a funny movie. The acting was quite good, with Pesci and Tomei playing their roles to the hilt as jaded, but naive, Brooklynites. Be forewarned, however, the language is very offensive, and Vinny and Lisa, although engaged, sleep together (but there is no fornication or nudity shown). In the final analysis, this movie will be more entertaining when it is edited for television.

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BC Law: Impact

Exploring our place in our community and the world, legal movie review: my cousin vinny.

The time has come once again for me to write a post for the Impact Blog. And yet, my mind is an empty, barren wasteland. I’ve got nothing cooking, there’s no fuel in the tank, the store is closed, lights are off, doors are locked, we’re finished, done, kaput. I simply cannot summon forth another word of unsolicited law school advice from the darkest recesses of my weak and feeble brain to foist upon the unsuspecting masses.

What I can do is watch a legal movie, and then tell you about it. Last year, similarly incapable of riffing 500-800 words about outlining or whatever , I catalogued ten minor inaccuracies about the law school experience portrayed in the documentary feature-film Legally Blonde . This time, I’ll be comprehensively scrutinizing My Cousin Vinny , a film centered around beleaguered Italian Americans starring Joe Pesci, and therefore, I assume, directed by Martin Scorsese.

The film has an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer , but an 87% rating from the general audience. Clearly, this 1% rating discrepancy is serious, and important. I’ve never seen My Cousin Vinny before, so I am left to wonder: which side has it right? The common rabble, or the professional-critic elites? Rotten Tomatoes’ critical consensus states, “the deft comic interplay between Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei helps to elevate  My Cousin Vinny ‘s predictable script, and the result is a sharp, hilarious courtroom comedy.” But are these positive words really just a smokescreen deployed by sneering reviewers in their ivory towers, as they look down upon ordinary people like you and me? Who are they to deny My Cousin Vinny the extra 1% it so obviously deserves?  

It’s an outrageous situation, made all the more befuddling by the lamestream media’s refusal to cover it, but maybe I shouldn’t assume malice where stupidity is the explanation . Maybe these movie-reviewing elites simply don’t have the legal acumen, wisdom, and perspective necessary to enjoy the film properly. Maybe, had they simply memorized the elements to adverse possession in 1L property law, they would have found an additional 1% in their condescending hearts. Or, maybe they really do have it right and the Tomatometer is functioning as an effective check against the tyranny of the majority. All we can say for sure is that whatever I wind up thinking about the movie will be 100% correct. What follows is the definitive, final word on My Cousin Vinny …

It’s pretty good!

The movie is mostly about Lisa (Marisa Tomei) being extremely patient with her fiancé, the eponymous Vinny (Joe Pesci), with some other stuff going in in the background about a murder trial and cultural conflict (north vs. south, urban vs. rural, etc.).

It starts with Bill (Ralph Macchio) and Stan (Mitchell Whitfield), two young New Yorkers on a road-trip to UCLA, stopping in a corner store in Alabama. The cashier tries to charge Bill full-price for a half-full Slurpee. Fortunately, the scamming cashier is killed soon thereafter, but the movie goes on to frame him as a “victim” of “murder”. In line with the urban vs. rural theme, Bill and Stan think of the southerners as backwards and prejudicial, but are proven wrong when… local police officers hold them up at gun-point and mistake their confession to shoplifting as a confession to murder. Meanwhile, the southerners think of the main cast as crude and unpolished, but are proven wrong when… Bill shoplifts in the first scene and Vinny gets held in contempt twice for wearing a leather jacket to court.

Bill and Stan are wrongfully charged for the murder, and hire Vinny as their criminal defense lawyer. Vinny is a personal injury attorney of six weeks with no trial experience who needed six attempts to pass the Bar Exam, fails to follow trial procedure, fails to cross examine adverse witnesses, gets held in contempt of court three times, repeatedly lies about his identity to the trial judge, accepts gifts from the prosecutor, badgers witnesses, and assaults some guy over a $200 pool hustle. This is mostly awesome, obviously, but at least a few of these strike me as potential professional violations. Lawyers never violate ethical rules, so the movie loses a lot of credibility here. Fortunately, it earns that credibility right back when the prosecution calls a surprise expert witness, and he has unnaturally spiky eyebrows, so you know he’s bad news.

Lisa is able to learn Alabama’s discovery disclosure rules by skimming Alabama’s Rules of Criminal Procedure in a day, the kind of cramming that law students should be able to appreciate.

Vinny is awoken in the middle of the night in a variety of ways evoking southern charm: a steam whistle, freight train, pigs oinking and owls hooting, the kind of natural sleep alarms that law students should be able to appreciate.

Stan’s public defender struggles through his opening statement, sweating profusely, stammering, and failing to say anything of substance, a public-speaking mishap that law students remembering their first cold call should be able to appreciate.

Clearly, there’s plenty to appreciate about this movie. Vinny is able to wield his lack of polish like a cudgel during the trial, dismantling the snooty prosecutor’s case and discrediting witnesses before he and Lisa use their background as auto-mechanics to prove Bill and Stan’s innocence. The good guys win, there’s a happy ending, characters make playful quips at each other and the credits role. It’s all very funny and satisfying.

Returning, however, to the deeply important question of this movie’s proper rating, I am left conflicted. On the one hand, the movie was pretty good. In fact, if I am being completely candid, I’d say that the deft comic interplay between Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei helped to elevate  My Cousin Vinny ‘s predictable script, and the result was a sharp, hilarious courtroom comedy. On the other hand, I will admit to some disappointment that there was no mention of adverse possession throughout its entire two-hour runtime. It’s like, what’s the point of the 1L curriculum if it doesn’t help us understand and analyze the complicated themes and social observations at play in My Cousin Vinny ? Am I supposed to just laugh at the jokes and move on?

You win this time, Scorsese. All in all, I’d put My Cousin Vinny somewhere in the 85%–88% range.

Dan Riley is a third-year student at BC Law with too much time on his hands. Feel free to contact him about My Cousin Vinny or any other legally-themed movie or show he should screen at [email protected] .

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My Cousin Vinny 1992

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Den of Geek

The Movies We Never Switch Off When They’re on TV

No matter how many times you see them, some movies are just meant to be watched whenever they’re on.

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One of the downsides of streaming’s cord-cutting era has been how hard it is to stumble on a great movie midway through. You know the joy of which we speak. After a long day at work or school, a moment to unwind turns into discovering one of your favorite flicks, that one you’ve probably seen a hundred times, is playing right now on cable. And wouldn’t you know it, you’ve come across it right at your favorite bit.

Before you know it, you spend the next 90 minutes catching up on a film you already have half committed to memory. It’s a perhaps uniquely dated phenomenon, but a great one for those of us who have entire personal libraries of movies that we may never have seen from beginning to end. I spent years, for example, convinced Con Air started with Nic Cage enunciating, “I said put the bunny back in the box.” Still, some movies invite more repeat viewings than others, and a few are just so good that even if they’re 75 percent over, coming across a frame of them means you’re now pot-committed. Here are the ones too good for us to quit.

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

It was 30 years ago last March when Marisa Tomei won her Oscar for movie-stealing work in My Cousin Vinny . There were dissenters—I hear—at that time about a comedic performance winning a little gold man. But for anyone who grew up with My Cousin Vinny playing seemingly on a loop, those contrarians have long since been discarded to the dustbins of history.

Tomei’s fabulous turn, and fabulously ridiculous Brooklyn accent, not only deserved the award, but deserved being enshrined in the most compulsively watchable “legal thriller” in the canon. See, we must use quotes around the term “thriller,” because even though the movie begins with two young yankees being wrongfully accused of the brutal murder of a stranger—and with nothing less than their lives now being on the line—this is also a movie where Joe Pesci will forever refer to them as “two youts” while wearing an antebellum’s bellboy uniform to court.

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A film that trades on stereotypes and stock roles, My Cousin Vinny ’s secret is its electric cast, from Pesci as the worst lawyer from the greater five borough area on down to Fred Gwynne as good ol’ boy judge, and Lane Smith as his good ol’ boy attorney. And through it all is, of course, Tomei’s magnificent Mona Lisa Vito whose climactic witness testimony never fails to delight. Wherever you come into the movie, be it for the murder or long after Vinny’s third stint of being held in contempt of court, you know you got to stick with it until you hear Tomei say, “Now I ask ya, would you give a fuck what kind of pants the son of a bitch who shot ya was wearing?!” – David Crow

Goodfellas (1990)

I had to convince David to let Goodfellas be on this list because it was such an obvious choice that it felt like cheating. As our best living director (and may he keep on living forever), Martin Scorsese has helmed many great movies. Which of those movies is his best is up for debate. What’s not up for debate, however, is that Goodfellas is his most entertaining. 

This 1990 classic about Henry Hill’s (Ray Liotta) life in the mafia is among the most compulsively watchable films ever made. Scorsese and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker cut this thing together like a thrilling two and a half hour music video. Goodfellas is quite simply always moving with nary a second wasted. It’s a movie that demands you stop and pay attention whenever you come across it while flipping around your cable package. – Alec Bojalad

School of Rock (2003)

Could you switch off School of Rock , the greatest film ever made about either school or rock? Then you’re a stronger man than I am.

Imagine stumbling on Richard Linklater, Mike White, and Jack Black ’s 2003 masterpiece on a dusty TV channel. At what point would you click the remote to leave it behind? When Tomika kills it a cappella on Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools?” When Principal Mullins drinks that beer and listens to Stevie Nicks at the bar? At the parent-teacher conference? When fake teacher Dewey does the work of 20 actual teachers by replacing Zack’s bullied anxiety with creativity-born self-esteem? When he proceeds to do that for EVERY KID IN THAT CLASS AND THEY, IN TURN, DO THE SAME FOR HIM AND THEN THEY ALL COME TOGETHER TO PERFORM ONE GREAT ROCK SHOW THAT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD? Exactly. It’s un-switch-offable.

Quite honestly, if you’re prepared to turn your back on Joan Cusack in any form, then you may be beyond help. Thanks to School of Rock ’s end credits gags, the only proper time to turn that movie off is after the Motion Picture Association of America logo has rolled.   – Louisa Mellor

Just My Luck (2006)

There are loads of films I leave on if I come across them on the telly, About a Boy , Bring It On , and The Clash of the Titans are but three. But to me these do not count since I would also deliberately put these films on. Just My Luck however, I would never actively choose to watch. No, the Lindsay Lohan/Chris Pine rom-com featuring the band McFly holds some sort of hypnotic power over me. 

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In case, UNLIKE ME, you haven’t seen this film multiple times, it stars Lohan as a preternaturally lucky young woman who basically gets everything she wants until one day she bumps into terminally unlucky Chris Pine, and over a kiss their powers swap. He gets a decent break in life; she learns humility; there is romance; there is McFly. It’s no Freaky Friday . But there it is, on the telly, probably on ITV or Channel 5, and there I am, in for the duration.

Perhaps it reminds me of a simpler time when rom-coms with high concepts were all the rage. This is a film by one of the crowned rom-com kings Donald Petrie, he of Miss Congeniality , How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days , and Mystic Pizza . After Just My Luck though, he somewhat disappeared from the scene with his latest being a 2018 rom-com set in Italy about warring pizza restaurants, starring Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen. Sounds like someone might have kissed the wrong Chris Pine. – Rosie Fletcher

Just a few days earlier, Shout Factory announced a 4K release of UHF and I preordered it immediately. This will be the fourth time I purchased UHF , which I’ve also owned on VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray. I think I have some sort of compulsion to always buy the newest edition of UHF , the same way I’m compelled to watch the entirety of the movie whenever it’s on. And I think this compulsion stems from the fact that I first saw UHF in the middle of the night during my 12th birthday party, which is the ideal state in which to watch a movie written by and starring Weird Al Yankovic. 

Of course UHF has much to offer beyond nostalgia. The loose plot involves Weird Al’s George Newman inheriting a failing TV station, which he turns around with some wild ideas and the help of odd-ball personalities (portrayed by Fran Drescher, Michael Richards, Billy Barty, and Emo Philips). Really, it’s just an excuse for Weird Al to do with movies and TV what he does with music: create hilarious and wholesome spoofs (give or take some Looney Tunes violence). It was funny when I was 12, it’s funny today, and it will be funny in 30 years when I buy the 1200K holo-edition to watch at my retirement home.  – Joe George

A Few Good Men (1992)

Looking back, it’s pretty remarkable that I (and, I imagine, many others) first saw A Few Good Men by catching it in the middle of one of its many mid-day cable TV screenings. This twisty and complex courtroom thriller doesn’t seem like the type of movie you can just hop into. It is certainly better to watch it from the start to appreciate the scope of its plot and the many little character moments that lead up to its memorable conclusion. 

Yet, the reason why A Few Good Men turned out to be a somewhat unlikely TV hit is the same reason why it’s so hard to resist repeat viewings of it to this day. For all its intricacies, A Few Good Men is also a star-power-fueled journey comprised of incredible individual scenes. If you’re watching the movie for the first time, the allure of that incredible cast spouting that peak Aaron Sorkin dialogue while Rob Reiner guides the action with a reassuring hand will be more than enough to instantly hook you. Years (and many viewings) later, any of those scenes will beckon you back into this expertly crafted thriller where each nearly perfect sequence ultimately serves as the piece of a puzzle that is infinitely satisfying to watch slowly come together.  – Matthew Byrd

Shrek (2001)

Somebody once told me the best comedy of the 21st century wasn’t live-action but animated. Enter Shrek , Dreamworks’ hysterical riff on classic fairy tales (and not-so-subtle jab at Disney). The inaugural winner of the Best Animated Feature award at the Oscars has been immortalized through a flurry of sequels, spinoffs, internet memes, and specialty-themed raves. But like Onions before it, Shrek has layers. 

Imagine winding down from a long day on vacation, turning on your hotel’s cable television to hear Rufus Wainwright serenading you with his illustrious cover of “Hallelujah.” If a plethora of irresistible needle-drops aren’t enough to hook you, perhaps a barrage of iconic quotes, ranging from “I like that boulder, that is a nice boulder” to “Do you think he’s compensating for something?” will tickle your fancy. Even if that somehow hasn’t caught your attention, maybe a genuinely compelling romance between swamp-crossed lovers will.

If all those elements don’t have you shouting, “I’m a believer,” we’re unsure what will. Shrek has weathered the test of time, standing tall over two decades later, cementing its status in the pantheon of cartoon classics. It has even outshone the fairy tale features it once parodied. If you’re thinking of switching off Shrek , you should pick up your knives and pitchforks on the way out. – Lee Parham

Which movies do you have to watch every time you catch them on the telly? Tell us in the comments!

EP: 46 - My Cousin Vinny

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• April 26, 2024 (United Kingdom)
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