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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Every family has cousins that does some type of job. Lord forbid I have plenty of cousins that do all sorts of jobs, some I don’t even know about. I have one cousin that has done it all. His last job was selling grease to different companies. Then I have cousins that sell insurance, worked for the FBI, worked in the political realm, influencing young minds as teachers. All families have cousins who have done or are in some field. I want to be that famous cousin. I want to be the one where my family goes, “You know your cousin, he is President of Disney. You should give him a call because I know his mama.”
My Cousin Vinny is a hilarious film where two boys get charged with murder and have to call one of their cousins to defend them. Directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Dale Launer, the story revolves around two teenage New York boys traveling down South. They are met with a series of coincidences that lands them in jail, charged with first-degree murder. Bill Gambini (Macchio) and Stanley Rothenstein (Whitfield) are best friends from the wild streets of New York City. They have just received scholarships to UCLA. They decide to drive through the South and arrive in the great state of Alabama. The pair stop at a local convenience store to pick up a few snacks. The pair drive off and are soon followed by a police officer. They think they are being stopped for stealing tuna but soon learn they are being charged with first-degree murder and robbery. With no funds to hire a high-priced lawyer, Bill calls his mother, who states that one of his family members is a lawyer, his cousin, Vincent Laguardia Gambini. That is excellent news for the pair until they realize that Vinny has never been in a trial. Vinny’s inexperience shows as he has to defend his clients and battle a stern ass judge (Gwynne), some “I don’t accept your kind around here boy” locals, and his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito (Tomei), who always has something to say.
It has been years since I have seen this film, and it is as hilarious as the first time I watched it. My Cousin Vinny should be watched by everyone. With our fantastic justice system at work with accusing the wrong people, seeing Vinny try and defend his cousin and friend is the best. First, defending someone in the deep South when you are a Yankee is a recipe for disaster, and it sure was. I also want to say that I read some facts about the film, and many lawyers state its accurate depiction of criminal procedure and trial strategy.
The best place to start is with the trial and everything the film shows. First, Vinny is beyond inexperienced, and I didn’t think he could defend a case in Alabama since he is from New York. He has zero concept of how things are done in the South. Vinny gets off to a very rocky start with the judge as he seems to dress as a mobster and couldn’t answer the simple question of “Guilty” or “Not Guilty.” From there, things get worse as he seems to always be in contempt of court for saying something under his breath or being very unprepared. In his opening statement, homeboy said, “everything he said, the reverse.” You really think Vinny will fail when his beautiful fiancée Mona Lisa reads the law book and states that all the information must be provided to him.
The film’s second half is excellent because Vinny comes into his own. He investigates all the witnesses and their stories. He comes up with his challenging legal strategy of questioning people relentlessly. I love how, after he proved each point of a witness wrong, he says, “I’m done with this guy.” Now each witness has a unique way of being proven wrong. The first one claims he made grits in 5 minutes. 5 freakin minutes for girts?!?! I am a southern, and no true southern makes high-quality grits in 5 minutes. The second witness has so much shit on his windows and things obstructing his view he could see past his finger, and the way Vinny talked to him with the pictures was hilarious. When it came to the third witness, she claimed she saw the two young men. The only thing is her glasses are so thick she couldn’t see anything. When Vinny took out a tape measure and walked half the distance, she said, he held up two fingers. She said four and then said she needed thicker glasses.
The film’s climax comes from the lovely Mona Lisa becoming pissed at Vinny because he yelled at her. He convinces her to go on the stand when he realizes he needs her. She lets everyone have it with her knowledge of cars. As she said, everyone in her family was a mechanic. Her testimony is priceless, and she rips off fact after fact on the car and the history of the cars GM made during the time. I also loved how she proved the prosecuting attorney wrong. This led Vinny to give the Sheriff a tip that won him the case.
How can we not talk about the fantastic acting of this film? First, let’s talk about the performance of Joe Pesci as Vinny Gambini. He was incredible as he drew influence from some of his other films. He played mind games with one towner as he said he would beat his ass for the $200 owed. His character always seemed to find himself without sleep. When the owl was hooting, homeboy ran out, shooting his gun. Straight up hilarious.
I want to give major props to Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain Haller. This was Gwunne’s final role, and he made something out of it as the stern-ass judge. The way he commanded his court and seemed serious all the time was funny. The scenes between him and Pesci are priceless.
I have decided to save the best for last. Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito was pure excellence and a tremendous joy to watch. I loved her and her character. She was the loudmouth, tell it how it was fiancée who was mistreated because she was a woman but knew her stuff. Honestly, without her, Vinny would’ve lost because she was the brains of the couple. My lawd did she wear some sexy and tight outfits. Vinny is a lucky man.
Everyone should watch My Cousin Vinny. It is one of the greatest courtroom films that was made. The story and jokes are spot on. They will have you laughing throughout the whole film. Pesci, Gwynne, and Tomei are excellent in their respective roles. Before watching this film, make sure you make some grits and learn some things about the law.
