"I'm learning all this as I go along. I'm bound to fuck up a little!"
Joe Pesci gained recognition playing hair-trigger psychopaths in Martin Scorsese movies. Yet Pesci's primarily a comic actor, from Easy Money (1983) through the Home Alone and Lethal Weapon series. Two years after his Oscar-winning turn in Goodfellas, Pesci plays his most memorable non-murderer in My Cousin Vinny (1992).Bill and Stan (Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield), two Brooklyn "yoots," are mistakenly charged with murder in Alabama. They call on Vinny Gambini (Joe Pesci), Bill's cousin and a freshly-minted attorney. Vinny arrives with girlfriend Lisa (Marisa Tomei) in tow, adjusting roughly to Alabama life. The Judge (Fred Gwynne) has it out for Vinny, not helped by Vinny's coarseness and inexperience. When the trial actually begins, Vinny's knack for arguing and Lisa's knowledge of cars prove a formidable combination.
Basically, My Cousin Vinny is a standard fish out of water comedy. Director Jonathan Lynn contrasts the coarse, crafty New Yorkers with their Southern hosts, but mostly avoids stereotypes: the Southerners are friendly, if bewildered, rather than uncouth rednecks. Vinny freaks out hearing shrieking trains and screech owls, but sleeps through a prison riot when imprisoned. Writer Dale Launer plays this to the hilt, adding bizarre asides like an argument about dripping faucets and cleverly-laced clues to the investigation.
Vinny's been praised for realistic handling of legal procedure, likely creditable to Lynn's law degree. It's a stretch that Vinny's completely ignorant of basic procedure but that's mitigated when he's cited for contempt, and the courtroom scenes play credibly. Less credible, perhaps, is Lisa's inevitable eleventh-hour testimony. But what's a legal drama without a Perry Mason trick? Vinny examining a witness about his grit-cooking prowess overrules any objections: "Perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove?" Vinny is predictable but funny.
Joe Pesci plays to his strengths. Vinny's profane and short-tempered, but smart and likeable; Pesci gives him an edge that sells his argumentative expertise. Marisa Tomei won an Oscar as Vinny's brassy girlfriend, who becomes a key defense witness. The supporting cast couldn't be better: Fred Gwynne, in his final role, plays the exasperated Judge; Lane Smith, a friendly prosecutor; Bruce McGill, a crude Sheriff.
My Cousin Vinny's such a funny, well-acted movie that we forgive any lapses in realism. Compared to some courtroom films it's a positive documentary. But really, what does that matter when we're here to watch Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei exchange profanity-barbed banter?
