My Cousin Vinny

Plot synopsis:
While driving through the fictional Beechum County, Alabama, New Yorkers Billy Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and his friend Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield) accidentally neglect to pay for a can of tuna after stopping at a convenience store. After they leave the store, the clerk is shot and killed off-camera, and Billy and Stan, who match the descriptions of the murderers given by witnesses, are then pulled over and detained in connection with the murder. Due to circumstantial evidence and a series of miscommunications based on the boys assumption that they have merely been detained for shoplifting, Billy ends up being charged with murder, and Stan is charged as an accessory.The pair call Billy's mother, who tells her son that there is an attorney in the family, Billy's cousin, Vincent LaGuardia "Vinny" Gambini (Joe Pesci), who travels to Beechum County accompanied by his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei). Unfortunately, although he is willing to take the case, Vinny reveals himself to be a neophyte personal injury lawyer from Brooklyn, New York, newly admitted to the bar (after six attempts and six years) with no trial experience whatsoever.Although Vinny manages to fool the uptight and conservative trial judge, Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne), about being experienced enough to take the case, his ignorance of basic court procedures and abrasive, disrespectful attitude towards the judge gets him into trouble immediately. During the arraignment, Vinny has no idea what he's supposed to do and angers Judge Haller with his ignorance of whether or not to plead "guilty" or "not guilty" for Stan and Billy.The next day, Vinny's ignorance and inexperience causes more harm, much to Billy and Stan's consternation. Vinny does not even bother to cross-examine any of the witnesses in the probable cause hearing. As their claims go unquestioned, it appears that the stuffy prosecutor, District Attorney Jim Trotter III (Lane Smith), has an airtight case that will inevitably lead to a conviction at the trial. After Vinny's poor showing at the hearing, Billy and Stan decide to fire him and use the public defender, but Vinny asks for one more chance to prove himself.After several weeks of preparation, the trial then opens with Vinny representing his cousin and the public defender representing Stan. Despite some further missteps, including wearing a gaudy secondhand suit to court (as his new suit fell in the mud) and sleeping through Trotter's opening statement, Vinny shows that he can make up for his ignorance and inexperience with an aggressive, perceptive questioning style. While the public defender stutters through a line of ill-prepared questions that appears to bolster the case against the boys, Vinny quickly and comprehensively puts into question the testimony of the first witness Sam Tipton (Maury Chaykin) who testifies seeing Bill and Stan arrive at the Sac-O-Suds parking lot before he started cooking his breakfast grits and saw them flee from the scene after hearing a gunshot. Vinny is able to show that 20 minutes had actually passed between those two events, not the five minutes that Tipton claims, thus opening the door to the idea that there may have been two cars involved. Billy's faith is rewarded, and Stan develops newfound respect and confidence for Vinny, firing the public defender.The next day, Vinny's cross-examinations of the remaining eyewitnesses are similarly effective. The elderly Mrs Riley (Paulene Myers)'s testimony becomes suspect because she could not identify how many fingers Vinny was holding up at half the distance she had been from the getaway car. Redneck Ernie Crane's (Raynor Scheine) testimony is made to question his own identification of the "two men in a green convertible" when he was forced to realize that he had made it looking through a dirty window, crud covered screen, a bunch of leaf-covered trees, and seven bushes.But on the third day of the trial, Trotter produces a surprise witness, George Wilbur, an FBI analyst who testifies that his chemical analysis of the tire marks left at the crime scene shows that they are identical to the tires on Billy's Buick Skylark. With only a brief recess to prepare his cross-examination and unable to come up with a particularly strong line of questions, Vinny becomes frustrated and lashes out at Lisa by taunting her about the usefulness of her wide-angle photographs of the tire tracks. She storms out, leaving Vinny alone.However, Vinny later realizes that that photo actually holds the key to the case: the flat and even tire marks going over the kerb reveal that Billy's car could not have been used for the getaway (The Buick had an axle that connected the two wheels, and would make a tilted, not flat, impression of the lower tire when going over the kerb. The tire marks are both flat, revealing the car that made the marks had an independent wheel suspension system.) Vinny needs Lisa, an expert in automobiles, to testify to this. He drags her into court, and during Vinny's questioning, they patch up their differences. Vinny then recalls the FBI analyst, who concurs with Lisa that Billy's car did not produce the tracks.Next, Vinny calls the local sheriff, who has run a records check at Vinny's request. The sheriff testifies that two men resembling Billy and Stan were arrested a few days earlier in Georgia for driving a stolen Pontiac Tempest, a car very similar in appearance and color to Billy's Buick Skylark, and in possession of a gun of the same caliber used to kill the clerk. Trotter then respectfully moves to dismiss all the charges.Throughout the film, Vinny and Judge Haller play a game of cat-and-mouse over Vinny's qualifications. Haller first discovers that, despite Vinny's claims that he tried "quite a few" murder cases, there exist no records of anybody named Vincent Gambini trying any case in New York State. Aware that Judge Haller will not let him be Stan and Billy's legal council if he finds Vinny to be inexperienced, Vinny then begins a series of lies by claiming that he had his name changed during a previous career as a stage actor and continued to use the name when he opened a law practice. Vinny, believing that he should give the judge the name of someone with the kind of resume he claimed to have, supplies the name of a prominent New York attorney, Jerry Gallo. Unfortunately, Lisa later tells Vinny that Gallo passed away the previous week, and when Haller learns this, Vinny claims that Haller misheard "Gallo" when Vinny actually said "Callo". Finally, Lisa gets Vinny off the hook by calling his mentor, Judge Malloy from New York, who responds to Haller's request by claiming that 'Jerry Callo' has a long and impressive trial history.The film concludes with Haller apologizing for doubting Vinny and praising his skills as a litigator. Vinny and Lisa then drive off together, discussing how they were able to fool the judge about Vinny's qualifications and arguing about plans for their wedding.

Tags: entertaining, cult, comedy, murder, mystery

Review:
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.
Marisa Tomei, who RIGHTFULLY won the Supporting Oscar for her excellent performance (please don't believe that urban myth about Jack Palance calling out the wrong name!!), is hilarious as Pesci's fiance with a foul mouth, a smart a**, the heaviest Brooklyn accent and an incredible expertise in automobiles.
And the whole idea of an out-of-work hairdresser knowing about Positraction is simply brilliant.This dialogue is brilliant because of excellent performances by both Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci.
Some of the exchanges between a local Alabama judge and a NYC poser lawyer would be completely ridiculous in anyone else's hands, but these people make it so real and so funny it's truly a thing of beauty.This is one of those rare films that I can watch over and over again for hours and not tire of it.10 out of 10 Barky.
Joe Pesci plays Vincent LaGuardia Gambini, a Brooklyn lawyer who is asked to defend his cousin and friend from a murder charge in Alabama.
Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito, Vinny's girlfriend, deserved the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, rare for a comedy to even be nominated for anything by AMPAS.
I really liked Fred Gwynne as the no-nonsense Judge Chamberlain Haller, a great foil for Joe Pesci's laid back, easy going Brooklyn wise guy.
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.
My Cousin Vinny is a movie that I will play to cheer me up because it's hard to feel down while watching it.Joe Pesci who scared the hell out of us as Tommy Devito in Goodfellas takes on the role of wise cracking, inexperienced attorney Vincent Gambini.
I love all the court room scenes and Pesci and Tomei have great chemistry.This movie is truly underrated; although Tomei did earn an Academy Award for her role in this film.
I borrowed this film from a friend but had no idea what it really was but just knowing Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, and Marisa Tomei were starring in it.
He had the best role in this movie out of anyone but Marisa Tomei as Vinny's fiancée and Fred Gwynne as the judge did wonderful.
This is the first film I have seen where Pesci is the lead role and he proved to sore beyond what his talents are, he's definitely one of the most under rated actors of all time, I feel like he's Hollywood's hidden secret weapon.
:) I had heard a lot about My Cousin Vinny, I know this was the movie that won Marissa's Oscar and not to mention I heard how funny it was.
Macchio knows that his one hope is the titled character (the priceless Joe Pesci) and his red hot girlfriend (Marisa Tomei in a well-deserved Oscar-winning turn).
"My Cousin Vinny" is a real gem, a perfect, funny, smart comedy, a very rare kind that I can watch and enjoy over and over again no matter how many times I've seen it and from what scene I watch it.
Joe Pesci as a lawyer with no legal experience from Brooklyn whose first case just happened to be defending two "youtes" in a first degree murder trial, and Marissa Tomei in the dresses that are so magnificently out of place in the muddy Wahzoo City, Alabama but so deliciously fit her like a glove, make one of the best screen couples ever but I like the supporting characters and small cameos, too.
Ten years after the film was released, Film critic and historian Mick LaSalle wrote in his article, "Half of what made Joe Pesci funny in this comedy was the stream of reactions of Gwynne, as the Southern Judge, a Great Dane to Joe Pesci's yapping terrier." The film made me root for Vinny, wishing him victory in his first case, and he won gloriously with the help of a lovely, lovely expert in the general automobile knowledge in this lovely, lovely comedy..
The supporting cast is peppered with fine actors doing good work, Lane Smith and Austin Pendleton are memorable but the real standout is Fred Gwynne as the judge in his last role, a great way to wrap up a career.
This is one of those films, which if you completely enjoy, is as much fun to see over and over as it was initially.It is simply a perfectly enjoyable and humorous piece of entertainment.The two primary leads, the two young defendants, the main co-stars (judge, prosecutor, sheriff) and the other cast, are all excellent.One of the best features as the story was presented is that every character seemed to contribute to its humor (e.g. the prosecutor, judge, other defense attorney, sheriff, witnesses - even the dolt whom the Tomei character had beaten in a game of pocket billiards) as well as Pesci and Tomei.
Not only that but Launer has written a script with gags that are both credible and funny , even the skit involving possible sexual abuse in prison ( They'd have to be one of course ) isn't as silly as it could have been The cast are pretty good too with Joe Pesci showing that he's just as good as a comedy leading man as he is at playing Italian American wiseguys .
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.
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.
And Joe Pesci & Marisa Tomei are simply Brilliant in here!'My Cousin Vinny' Synopsis: Two New Yorkers are accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college, and one of their cousins--an inexperienced, loudmouth lawyer not accustomed to Southern rules and manners--comes in to defend them.'My Cousin Vinny' works from Scene A to Z.
It took me over 3 hours to watch this movie the first time on DVD because I kept rewinding laugh scenes over and over.I wake up every morning and go to work in the courthouse, and My Cousin Vinny helps me get through the host of people every day now.Aside from Casablanca and this year's Oscar winner The Artist, My Cousin Vinny in my top list of 'movie with lovable characters' 10 out of 10.
As many other reviewers  have mentioned, Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for her role in this movie and by rights Pesci should have won one too.
Gotta love the internet movie database!Its a change of pace for Joe Pesci after his roles in films such as Casino, JFK and Goodfellas.
This is one of the rare movies in comedy that i could watch over and over again,, this movie is sooooo , freaking funny it's like a laugh a minute,, especially how Vinny,, "bag of donuts" is woken up constantly every morning,, first the train,, then the pigs i think the owl, and o yeah the steam whistle...
i can relate to that stuff, and living relatively close to N.Y. for years i can relate to the accents in the movie,, very Brooklyn if i'm not mistaken,, i loved Joe Pesci in this movie,, this is one of his finer moments ever in a comedic role,, Marissa Tomei however stole the whole show for me,, not only is she sexy and pretty she can act too, her accent fits her like a glove, Ralph Maccio,, hmm well, not everything can be perfect..
MY COUSIN VINNY is the kind of comedy that makes its point pretty early on when it's apparently going to be a battle of wits between a fast talking New York lawyer (JOE PESCI, who only passed his bar exam after six tries) who finds himself embroiled in the Alabama court system and a stern and uncompromising Judge Waller (FRED GWYNNE) who takes an instant dislike to his lack of courtroom decorum.The brash Vinny comes to Alabama to help his nephew and his friend, innocents accused of a convenience store murder who seek his help as a last resort.
Vinny's equally brash and foul-mouthed girlfriend MARISA TOMEI is along for the ride and turns out to be the saving point of the trial when she exhibits a knowledge of automobile engineering that's hidden by her crude behavior and comes as a real surprise in the amusing and cleverly written courtroom windup.JOE PESCI is excellent as the lawyer who antagonizes the judge so much that he has him jailed twice during preliminary hearings.
When she finally gets her chance to shine, she walks off with the film and it's easy to see why she copped a Best Supporting Role Oscar for her work here.The other supporting standout is the job done by RALPH MACCHIO as Bill, the nephew who sends for Vinny and then has second thoughts about maybe using a public defender.
Having just passed the bar on his sixth attempt, Vinny is able to bluff his way into the court but his street-attitude and relaxed approach (not to mention bad luck) puts him on the wrong side of the judge from the very start; not a good thing in a case where everyone is pushing for the death penalty.If you are looking for a sassy little comedy that is sparky fun despite not amounting to much then this is a good a place as you could start as this film is a lot of fun and has stood up well over the ten years since its release.
Of course, he comes very close to losing the film to Marisa Tomei who deserved her Oscar (and how much more of a surprise was it for a comedy role to win one of the main awards?).
Gwynne is a delight; Lane Smith is well played; McGill is a familiar face and the various small town characters are all well played and convincing.Overall this is a fun film that may not across as high energy or having a hilariously funny script but it produces a consistently amusing tone with plenty of enjoyable sequences and has stood up very well over the past decade.
But Vinny has a secret weapon--the Gambini family trait of being argumentative.This brilliantly written film allows Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei to deliver the performances of their careers.
Can you imagine what a good defense attorney might have cost Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield if Pesci was not Macchio's cousin Vinny?Of course for a lot of the film that does not seem like a good idea because not only is Pesci a newly minted attorney, but he's a Brooklyn Italian trying a case among the good old boys in Alabama.
"My Cousin Vinny" delivers a ton of laughs, some great acting from Pesci, Tomei, and Fred Gwynne.
Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei have a ton of fun with this role and really do a great job acting off one another.
Thanks to Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Fred Gwynne and the other main cast members, and to Jonathan Lynn, the film's director, it succeeds and is quite entertaining.Much has been said in a non-complimentary fashionabout several of the acting efforts in the film, but it's the acting that elevates the film from run of the mill ho-hum fare to one which keeps you laughing on repeat viewings.Recently, I watched the film on DVD and listened to Jonathan Lynn's audio commentary.
Whatever, if you're looking for a funny movie to watch, My Cousin Vinny will have you laughing..
As Vincent La Guardia Gambini, the relatively slow learning attorney who comes to his nephew's rescue when he's falsely accused of murder in the deep South, Joe Pesci landed his best ever comedy (and leading man) role.He's aided heavily with a terrific script and a superb supporting cast.
MY COUSIN VINNY is an entertaining and laugh-packed comedy confection that stars Joe Pesci as a New York tough who somehow barely passed the bar exam but has yet to try a case, who is asked to come down south to redneck country to defend his young cousin (Ralph Macchio)and his friend (Mitchell Whitfield), who have been wrongfully accused of murder.
Marisa Tomei won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her scene-stealing performance as Pesci's brash and loud-mouthed girlfriend who accompanies him down south.
Without a doubt,This is the Greatest and Magnificent hilarious-comedy of all time.I never saw the Great Comedy as funny as "Meet the Parents" until i found this one as the "Next Brilliant Comedy" after all.This movie was giving us everything:Genius Directing,Magnificent Casting and Smart-Funny Plot.For Cast,Marisa Tomei truly deserved get the Oscar for her role as Lisa,Vincent's Bambini fiancé.Aside her,pesci was giving his Top-Notch performance as Genuine Comedian in Hollywood Cinema.Ralph Macchio still didn't lose his Charms and Brilliant Acting as like as his leading role in Best Martial-Art Drama "Karate Kid trilogy".GOD..Everybody who loves very much with comedy,Needs to see this one!You won't regret it!I guarantee 100%!
After repeated viewings, I think the movie works because of the play of the main actors: Joe Pesci, Fred Gwynne, Marisa Tomei (Oscar winner for this role, well-deserved) and the minor characters, Austin Pendleton and Lane Smith.
MY COUSIN VINNY is an excellent comedy, and proved that Joe Pesci can be more than a wonderful supporting actor, Marisa Tomei is a fabulous actress, Ralph Macchio is more than a karate kid, and Fred Gwyne had a knack for comedy other than the munsters.
The actors in this movie were 10/10,Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci Specifically.
Because the story is clever and well-written, because it's full of healthy humor and some hilarious moments (like jail conversation), because of good entertainment that Joe Pesci never fails to provide, because of great actors led by Marisa Tomei, who won an Oscar for this role, and most of all, because I fell madly in love with her when I saw this movie for the first time and that crush seems to come back again every time I watch it.
Our two leads Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are a revelation as two working-class urbanites struggling and failing to adapt to the inconveniences of loud sawmill whistles, rumbling trains and Alabama mud.Years after My Cousin Vinny's release, many have joked that Tomei's Supporting Actress win in 1993 was at best a fluke and at worst undeserved.
"My Cousin Vinny" arrived not too long after Joe Pesci's Oscar win for his classic performance in "GoodFellas", where he memorably badgered Ray Liotta's character into explaining just why he thought he was so funny.
In any case, in addition to having good chemistry together, Pesci & Tomei also had a stellar cast of character actors supporting them.
The plot becomes more solid, the cheap laughs turn into some clever laughs and a quality movie emerges.The final few scenes are quite wonderful, not just in comedy turns but, and even more so, in courtroom-drama terms.Decent performance by Joe Pesci in the lead role.
"My Cousin Vinny" is an engaging, funny movie that if nothing else shows us just how talented Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are.
It would seem at first to be basically a one joke comedy - take an Italian American and drop him into the deep South - but it's developed in an entertaining way and has some real heart and charm going for it - although it does go on a bit long.Pesci stars in the tailor-made role of Vinny Gambini, a so-called "lawyer" who needed six tries in order to pass the bar exam.
Fred Gwynne has some great moments as the stern, disapproving judge who doesn't care for Vinnys' way of doing things.Serious at times but never too, too serious, "My Cousin Vinny" knows how to end big, and send us away with smiles on our faces.
Old Freddy Gwyne is perfect as the strict Southern Judge and great to see him in a different role to Herman Munster, very interesting.this film gets better each time i watch it.
There's not much more to this movie when it comes to material, but thankfully Pesci and Marisa Tomei (who got an Oscar out of it) make all this stuff work.
I remember watching the Oscars when Marisa Tomei won "For My Cousin Vinny." The clip that was shown was the scene of Tomei's character Mona Lisa Vito whining about her "Biological Clock." Her character from that clip seemed cartoonish at the time and didn't tempt me to see the movie.
Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei give superb performances and the writing is great!.
The result is is a comedy guilty of exceeding the laugh limit.Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are perfect as the "New Yawk" lawyer wannabe and his contentious fiance.
And Tomei's motormouth witness-stand finale (which likely helped secure her Oscar) is a scene to remember.I highly recommend this movie, one of the best comedies to come out of the 1990s..
Thankfully, the movie does get into its element once it turns into a courtroom farce, when Joe Pesci and especially Marisa Tomei take center stage and allow their characters to grow.
Thus the movie should have started with Pesci, not Macchio.Tomei, as you probably know, won an Oscar for her performance.
A typical fish out of water story scenario with hilarious consequences.Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Fred Gwyne are in fine form.Try watching it, it's original and very funny..