Movie: My Cousin Vinny

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Perry Mason, move over.

Plot Overview

Vincent “Vinny” Gambini (Joe Pesci) “got a bull­sh!t traffic ticket, went to court, got the cop on the stand, and argued with him until he admitted he was wrong. And the judge, … after­wards, he asks me to go to lunch with him. Then he says to me, ‘you know what? You'd be a good liti­gator.’” “I never thought of becoming a lawyer,” Vinny says, “but this Judge Malloy, who's from Brooklyn, too? He did it, so all of a sudden, it seemed possible. So I went to law school.” While his muscle car was in the shop, he met the mechanic's lovely daughter Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) and they fell for each other and decided to get married directly after Vinny won his first case. He went through four years at Brooklyn Academy of Law, then it took him six years & six tries to pass the bar. Now he's six weeks a personal injury attorney but during the Christmas season when every­body is nice to each other. His fiancée's biological clock is mean­while ticking away: “tick … tick … tick.”

Vinny's cousin Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) at NYU w/his friend Stan Rothen­stein (Mitchell Whit­field) both receive scholar­ships to UCLA and drive cross-country to save money, and through the South to expand their horizons. They get arrested in Alabama for murder in a case of mistaken identity. It's a capital crime there. They accept Vinny's offer to represent them for free.

The judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne) in an informal inter­view, approves this out-of-state lawyer after his serious pre­vari­cating. The prosecuting attorney Jim Trotter III (Lane Smith) having once suffered qualms as defense freeing the guilty now can peace­fully convict the innocent. The jury is willing (“Fry 'em!”) to impose the death penalty. Vinny bones up on Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure. And his fiancée being a hair stylist helps him clean up to please the judge though her options are limited in a small town. She did about as well as was done for a character in an Amy Plum novel:

Vincent … had shown up that night wearing a vintage black tuxedo, and I had almost fainted when I opened the door.

“Um, did I forget to tell you that, for once, my family isn't wearing black tie to dinned?” I said, my sarcasm falling flat since I was bedazzled by his appearance. He looked like an old-fashioned movie star, his black hair flowing back in waves from his chiseled face. (332–3)

Ideology

As if the small town eye witnesses aren't enough the prosecutor springs on them a special auto­motive instructor of forensic studies for the FBI to place Billy's Buick Skylark convertible at the scene of the crime. The judge allows it but doesn't grant Vinny enough time to dig up his own expert for a rebuttal. In desperation he calls his fiancée to testify (“She knows every­thing about cars”) based on her experience growing up helping her daddy in his garage. Smart move, that. (Eccl. 4:9) “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.” If she helps him win the case, they can get married.

(Eccl. 4:10) “For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” When Billy failed to meet the judge's standards of grooming, Mona Lisa fixed him up. But woe to the pool hustler who didn't pay up but wanted to fight. His buddies did not back him up.

(Eccl. 4:11) “Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?” At night the two of them snuggled while discussing the case. The single, public defender, how­ever, seriously lacked self-confidence.

(Eccl. 4:12) “And if one prevail against him, two shall with­stand him; and a three­fold cord is not quickly broken.” Billy was unable to refute the fibby, but with the cutie's aid he came over to their side leaving the prosecutor high and dry.

Production Values

“” (1992) was directed by Jonathan Lynn. It was written by Dale Launer. It stars Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Ralph Macchio. The film sported spectacular performances by Tomei, Pesci, and Fred Gwynne playing the judge. Tomei was a tour de force babe in her own right.

MPA rated it R for language. The New Yorkers' speech was in the gutter, but the Southerners' mostly rose above that and were hospitable. The local color was captured on film, not that anyone would care. The cars got muddy from the rain. Runtime is 2 hours.

Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation

I've seen a lot of so-so court­room dramas but this one excels. Reminds me of the time I was empaneled on a jury. The prosecution had a video, a theory and a slam-dunk case, the defense just reasonable doubt. I didn't care that the trial inter­fered with my movie class night where a Hollywood director would lead the discussion on what he showed. I just let the video be my movie that night. I was able to straighten out the divided jury right quick that the man wasn't guilty. This one is a satisfying comedy cum drama.

Movie Ratings

Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Five stars out of five.

Works Cited

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.

Lions den picture is copyright © Sweet Publishing. Licensed by FreeBibleimages. This picture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Plum, Amy. Die For Me. Copyright © 2011 by Amy Plum. New York: Harper­Teen Pub. Print.