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My Cousin Vinny is a 1992 American
comedy film written by
Dale Launer and directed by
Jonathan Lynn. The film stars
Joe Pesci,
Ralph Macchio,
Marisa Tomei,
Mitchell Whitfield,
Lane Smith,
Bruce McGill, and
Fred Gwynne, in his final film appearance.
The film deals with two young
New Yorkers traveling through rural
Alabama who are arrested and put on trial for a murder they did not commit and the comical attempts of a cousin, Vincent Gambini, a lawyer who had only recently passed the bar exam after several unsuccessful attempts, to defend them. Much of the humor comes from the contrasting personalities of the brash Italian-American New Yorkers, Vinny and his fiancée Mona Lisa, and the more reserved Southern townspeople.
Lawyers have praised the movie's realistic depiction of courtroom procedure and trial strategy. Pesci, Gwynne, and Tomei all received critical praise for their performances, and Tomei won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Cast
Release
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews. On
Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 85%, based on 52 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "The deft comic interplay between Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei helps to elevate
My Cousin Vinny's predictable script, and the result is a sharp, hilarious courtroom comedy."
Tomei won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the
65th Academy Awards in 1993.
[4]
Director Lynn has a law degree from
Cambridge University, and lawyers have praised the accuracy of
My Cousin Vinny's depiction of courtroom procedure and trial strategy, with one stating that "[t]he movie is close to reality even in its details. Part of why the film has such staying power among lawyers is because, unlike, say,
A Few Good Men, everything that happens in the movie
could happen—and often
does happen—at trial". One legal textbook discusses the film in detail as an "entertaining [and] extremely helpful introduction to the art of presenting
expert witnesses at trial for both beginning experts and litigators",
[8] and criminal defenders, law professors, and other lawyers use the film to demonstrate
voir dire and
cross examination.
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge
Richard Posner praised
My Cousin Vinny as being particularly rich in practice tips: how a criminal defense lawyer must stand his ground against a hostile judge, even at the cost of exasperating the judge, because the lawyer's primary audience is the jury, not the judge; how cross-examination on peripheral matters can sow serious doubts about a witness's credibility; how props can be used effectively in cross-examination (the tape measure that demolishes one of the prosecution's eyewitnesses); how to voir dire, examine, and cross-examine expert witnesses; the importance of the
Brady doctrine ... how to dress for a trial; contrasting methods of conducting a jury trial; and more.
John Marshall Law School professor Alberto Bernabe wrote that "Vinny is terrible at the things we do teach in law school, but very good at the things we don't":
[How to] interview clients, to gather facts, to prepare a theory of a case, to negotiate, to know when to ask a question and when to remain quiet, to cross examine a witness forcefully (but with charm) in order to expose the weaknesses in their testimony
United States Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia cited
My Cousin Vinny as an example of the principle that a client can choose his own lawyer, but
United States Senator John Kennedy told nominee
Matthew S. Petersen that having seen the film did not qualify one to be a federal judge.
Lynn, an opponent of
capital punishment, believes that the film expresses an anti-death penalty message without "preaching to people", and demonstrates the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. Lawyers find the film appealing, according to the director, because "there aren't any bad guys", with the judge, prosecutor, and Vinny all seeking justice. Lynn stated that both he and Launer sought to accurately depict the legal process in
Vinny, favorably comparing it to
Trial and Error, for which he could not make what he believed were necessary changes.
Proposed film sequel
In an interview on March 14, 2012, the film's screenwriter,
Dale Launer, talked about a
sequel he had written involving Vincent Gambini practicing law in the
United Kingdom. Marisa Tomei dropped out. The studio hired another screenwriter to rework the script without Tomei's character. Eventually, the project was shelved.
Novel sequel series
In 2017, author
Lawrence Kelter began a
My Cousin Vinny novel series with
Back to Brooklyn, which is intended to be in the spirit of
The Thin Man series. With the setting updated to contemporary times, the series depicts the further cases of Vinny Gambini with Mona Lisa operating as his investigator.
Album
Pesci later reprised the Vincent LaGuardia Gambini character for his 1998 album
Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You, which contains the song "Yo, Cousin Vinny." The album cover portrays Pesci in a red suit similar to the usher suit he wore in the film.
