My Cousin Vinny

Starring: Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Fred Gwynne
Directed by: Jonathan Lynn
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
1992

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two teenagers are arrested in Alabama and falsely accused of murder. One of the boys (Ralph Macchio) calls the only lawyer he knows- he cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci) an inexperienced and very unpolished lawyer. Now, Vinny has a large murder case as his first courtroom experience, and must surpass even his own expectations if he wants to get his innocent cousin off free.

Review:

Tim: This is a pretty decent film about a less than genius, inexperienced lawyer's first big case- a murder trial involveing his cousin. The story is pretty interesting and keeps our attention throughout.

Joe Pesci does a good job as Vinny. He is ideal for the fast talking, joke cracking lawyer who's just a bit in over his head. He is the focus of the movie and it succeeds because of his performance. However, the show is stolen by the supporting performance of Marisa Tomei. She is so fun to watch and works extremely well with Pesci.

Several running gags make this film fairly funny- including Pesci's tendency to be held in contempt of court and his nightly problems with sleeping, along with a few others. These are all very simply laughs, but they add up to be pretty effective.

Once the movie really gets into the court case, the excitement level picks up. The case is actually pretty fascinating and it is amazing to watch Pesci's cross examinations. This is by far the highlight of the film.

My Cousin Vinny has more than a few cheesy moments and several weak aspects. The whole pretending-to-be-a-different-lawyer is pretty ridiculous. However, there are more positives than negatives and this is a charming, funny movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: With Honors, Home Alone, The Karate Kid