Starring: Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Gwynne Directed By: Jonathan Lynn Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Region Code: 1 Release Date: July 25, 2000 Running Time: 120 minutes Theatrical Release Date: March 13, 1992
Product Description: A college student and his friend are accused of murder in the depths of the South, and law school graduate cousin Vinny comes to the rescue. The trouble is, Vinny passed the bar on his sixth try and has never appeared in court before. Genre: Feature Film-Comedy Rating: R Release Date: 4-FEB-2003 Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com: When two Italian-American boys from New York are falsely accused of murder in a small Alabama town, they call for a lawyer--but the only lawyer they know is their cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci), who made six attempts before he passed his bar exam. My Cousin Vinny is a classic fish-out-of-water comedy; the flimsy plot about clearing the two boys and solving the murder is just a hook to support a lot of culture-clash humor. Thanks to the strong cast of character actors like Fred Gwynne, Austin Pendleton, and Lane Smith, it's pretty funny--even old-hat jokes about Brooklyn versus Southern accents come to life. Pesci has played a few too many schticky characters, but this time it works. There's just enough humanity in his caricature to make Vinny likable and entertaining. When the movie was released, there was controversy about whether Marisa Tomei, playing Vinny's big-haired and black-leather-wearing fiancée, deserved to win the best supporting actress Oscar (she beat out Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave); but seeing her performance on its own, it's a comic marvel and worthy of honor. --Bret Fetzer
One of my favorite comedies "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. This is one of my three all time favorite English language comedies along with "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "A Fish Called Wanda". When I think of it, all three share the same concept - playing the differences between the cultures, mentalities, ways of living, talking, doing things, even cooking - Europeans versus Americans, particularly British and Americans or New Yorkers versus Southerners in My Cousin Vinny. They also have in common a flawless, witty script with all pieces falling into right place, all guns firing, all characters developed and interesting. As with Scoundrels and Wanda, performances in "My Cousin Vinny" are simply terrific. Joe Pesci as a lawyer with no legal experience from Brooklyn whose first case just happened to be defending two "youtz" 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. Everyone shines in this delightful comedy. I remember three witnesses for prosecution - grits loving Sam Tipton (Maury Chaykin), the guy with seven bushes (Raynor Scheine), and sweet Mrs. Riley who just may need a thicker pair of glasses. Austin Pendleton as a stuttering public attorney was hilarious. Fred Gwynne, sadly in his last performance as Judge Chamberlain Halle, made his every scene (each of which he shared with Pesci) the double delight. 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.
Wife's Favorite This is one of my wife's all time favorites. It is a classic well worth having in the library for friends that have not seen it and to watch over and over again yourself.
ONE OF PESCI'S FINEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What can I say about this movie? I absolutely LOVED IT! It was so entertaining- I own it and I have to watch it at least twice a year. I loved the main characters from the scene when they cruised into town (oh yeah...you blend) to near the end when Tomei thrills us with her expertise about cars on the witness stand. The late Fred Gwynne was dead on as the typical southern judge (once again - the communication process has broken down.) Pesci and Tomei were at their best throughout. I always laugh every time I see this one! It is loaded with laughs and charm!!!! Don't miss it - It will put a big grin on your face that will stay there all day. This movie is a MUST HAVE for your home collection! ONE!!!!!!
Vinny Boy Saw this once on TV and just had to have it! It's hilarious while intriguing. A must have!
A man who has struggled to make himself a lawyer finds the strength and energy to become a good one This movie starts out looking like other tales of New Yorkers traveling through the South, being falsely charged with murder and then having a sham trial. The age of the cars indicates that the time is the mid sixties, although the prominent role blacks have in the jury and law enforcement would place the time at least two decades later. Joe Pesci plays a lawyer with dubious legal credentials who drives down to Alabama to defend his cousin and his cousin's friend. At first, Pesci comes across as a city bumpkin, totally in over his head, both legally and culturally. However, as the story unfolds, he proves his mettle as a lawyer. His courtroom performance at the end is very effective, although the last part of the trial is dominated by the performance of Marisa Tomei. It is obvious why she won an Oscar for best supporting actress. This movie was billed as a comedy, but I do not see it as that. I would classify it as a semi-serious look at the legal system, where a man who has struggled for years to become a lawyer manages to find it within himself to be a great one.
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