Macchio and Whitfield play William Gambini and Stanley Rothenstein, two young New Yorkers who are arrested in Alabama and put on trial for a murder they did not commit. Unable to afford a lawyer, they are defended by Gambini's cousin Vinny Gambini (Pesci), newly admitted to the bar, who arrives with his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito (Tomei). The clash between the brash Italian-American New Yorkers and the more reserved Southern townspeople[3] provides much of the film's humor. The principal location of filming was Monticello, Georgia.[4]
My Cousin Vinny was a critical and financial success, with Pesci, Gwynne, and Tomei praised for their performances. Tomei won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Attorneys have also lauded the film for its accurate depiction of criminal procedure and trial strategy.
Plot
Driving through Alabama, Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein, college students from New York, shop at a convenience store. After they leave, the store clerk is robbed and killed. Due to circumstantial evidence, Bill is charged with first-degree murder and Stan as an accessory; Bill and Stan assumed they were being busted after Bill accidentally forgot to pay for a can of tuna. Bill and Stan use Bill's cousin, Vinny Gambini, a personal injury lawyer from Brooklyn, because they can't afford a private lawyer, and he'll represent them for free. Vinny is newly admitted to the bar and has no trial experience. He arrives in Alabama with his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito, who comes from a family of mechanics.
Vinny fools the trial judge, Chamberlain Haller, that he is experienced enough for the case. However, Haller repeatedly holds him in contempt for his abrasive attitude and ignorance of courtroom decorum. To the alarm of Bill and Stan, Vinny does not cross-examine any of the witnesses in the preliminary hearing. Though he lacks the murder weapon, the district attorney, Jim Trotter III, has a strong case. After Vinny's poor showing at the hearing, Stan fires him and uses the public defender, John Gibbons. However, Gibbons's nerves and severe stutter assist the prosecution's case.
Vinny makes up for his inexperience with an aggressive and perceptive questioning style. When he cross-examines the first witness, he uses his knowledge of the cooking time of grits to force him to admit that his perception of time was inaccurate, meaning he cannot corroborate the prosecution's timeline. Stan fires the public defender and rehires Vinny, who discredits the next two witnesses by questioning their ability to make a positive identification due to obstructions in their sightline and impaired vision.
Trotter produces a surprise witness, the FBI analyst George Wilbur. Vinny objects, as Trotter failed to inform him ahead of time, but Haller spitefully overrules the objection. Wilbur testifies that the pattern and chemical analysis of the tire marks left at the crime scene are identical to the tires on Bill's car. In cross-examination, Wilbur admits the tires on Bill's car are the most popular in America.
Haller orders a lunch recess after Wilbur's testimony. Vinny asks for a full day's continuance to properly prepare for cross-examination, but Haller refuses. While struggling to prepare, Vinny lashes out at Lisa, but realizes that one of her photos holds the key to the case: the flat and even tire marks over the curb reveal that Bill's car could not have been used for the getaway.
After asking the local sheriff for a favor, Vinny drags an angry Lisa into court to testify as an expert witness on cars. Lisa testifies that only a car with an independent rear suspension and Positraction could have made the tire marks, which rules out Bill's 1964 Buick Skylark. One model of car with these features is the similar-looking 1963 Pontiac Tempest. Because both Buick and Pontiac are owned by GM, the Pontiac Tempest was also available in the same metallic mint green finish as Bill's car. Vinny recalls Wilbur, who confirms this information, discrediting his own testimony. Vinny then recalls the sheriff, who testifies that two men who fit Bill and Stan's descriptions have been arrested in Georgia for driving a stolen metallic mint green Pontiac Tempest, and were in possession of a gun of the same caliber used in the murder. Trotter dismisses all charges. The judge congratulates Vinny and, as they drive away, Vinny and Lisa bicker about their wedding plans.
Screenwriter Dale Launer came up with the idea for My Cousin Vinny as a college student, after hearing about a lawyer who had finally passed the bar after their 13th attempt. Launer thought it would be funny to have someone traveling through the Southern United States run into legal trouble and end up being represented by that type of lawyer.[5] Launer did not develop the concept until after he had written a few successful screenplays, including Ruthless People and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He was inspired by the comedy of Sam Kinison, particularly his approach with hecklers, in developing Vinny, and he based the relationship between Vinny and his fiancée on two dating friends who would argue frequently.[5] Launer also took a road trip through the South in which he got stuck in the mud and had repairs to fix his car, which became part of the script. He met an assistant district attorney who became the basis of the character of Jim Trotter, including casting Lane Smith for the role.[5] He spent several sessions with an attorney to review the process of legal trials, and learned from him that much of criminal court proceedings are not taught in law school but come from practice, which served well for Vinny's character.[5]
For casting, the studio originally wanted Andrew Dice Clay for Vinny, but this did not work out. Other considerations included Danny DeVito, Peter Falk, Robert De Niro, and Jim Belushi, but save for De Niro and DeVito, none of these were the Italian American they were looking for. They eventually cast Joe Pesci, who had just finished Lethal Weapon 2, was finishing filming in Goodfellas, and was an ideal choice for the role.[5] For Mona Lisa, they had approached Lorraine Bracco and Carole Davis, but both had passed on the role. Director Jonathan Lynn auditioned several other actresses, but found Marisa Tomei when he was invited to the set of the movie Oscar by John Landis, where Tomei had a minor part. While Fox wanted an actress with more fame, they agreed to Tomei.[5]Ben Stiller and Will Smith were considered for the roles of Bill and Stan but, in both cases, there was concern related to the incarceration of a Jewish and Black person in the South, and Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield were hired instead.[5]
Exterior filming was done near the town of Greensboro, Georgia; the exterior shots of the courthouse and the surrounding square were shot in Monticello, Georgia, and the courthouse scenes were shot in a set in Covington, Georgia, used for In the Heat of the Night.[5] The prison scenes were shot in a real, working prison and the prisoners appearing as extras were actual convicts.[6]
Reception
Box office
With a budget of $11 million, My Cousin Vinny was more successful than anticipated, grossing $52,929,168 domestically and $11,159,384 internationally, bringing its overall worldwide total to $64,088,552.[2]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 87%, based on 60 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."[7] On Metacritic the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics.[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[9]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave My Cousin Vinny 2.5 stars out of a possible 4. He declared that despite Macchio's co-star billing, the actor was given little to do, and the film seemed adrift until "lightning strikes" with the final courtroom scenes, when Gwynne, Pesci, and Tomei all gave humorous performances.[10] Ebert's television partner, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, liked the film more, singling out Dale Launer's screenplay for praise.[11]
Despite the good-but-not-great initial reviews, My Cousin Vinny is generally considered to have held up as one of the most remembered and watched movies of the 1990s. The movie performed well in home video sales and rentals (originally VHS, and eventually DVD) and received frequent play on cable television. The film's catchier quotes became well known as well.[15]
One element that aged somewhat awkwardly was Austin Pendleton's role as a stuttering and ineffective public defender. Pendleton suffered from stuttering in his childhood before overcoming it; during filming he did not enjoy dredging up bad memories from his teenage years and, afterward, he was not pleased to be publicly associated with the character. In a 2022 interview, he said that he felt the role nearly ended his career, and, after receiving angry letters from stutterers, said he regretted agreeing to perform the role at all. Casting director David Rubin said that Pendleton's scenes, while funny, probably would have been changed significantly in a newer movie.[15]
Legal accuracy
The film's director, Jonathan Lynn, has an English law degree from the University of Cambridge,[16] and lawyers have praised the accuracy of My Cousin Vinny's depiction of courtroom procedure and trial strategy,[17] 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".[18] 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";[19] furthermore, criminal defenders, law professors, and other lawyers use the film to demonstrate rules of evidence, voir dire, relevance, and cross examination.[20][17][21][22]
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.
In "Ten Things Every Trial Lawyer Could Learn From Vincent La Guardia Gambini", federal judge Joseph F. Anderson of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina praised Vinny's courtroom methods as "a textbook example" of Irving Younger's "Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination", and wrote that the film predicted the U.S. Supreme Court's 1999 decision Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael and its holding regarding the Daubert standard, which governs when expert witnesses can testify in U.S. federal trials. He concluded that Lynn and scriptwriter Dale Launer "have given our profession a wonderful teaching tool while producing a gem of a movie that gives the public at large renewed faith in the common law trial and the adversarial system as the best way to determine the truth and achieve justice".[24] In a 2019 decision, Merrick Garland, then the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, wrote "In 1992, Vincent Gambini taught a master class in cross-examination," and further extensively quoted from a cross-examination scene in the film.[25]
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":[26]
[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,[27] but United States SenatorJohn Kennedy told District Court nominee Matthew S. Petersen that having seen the film did not qualify one to be a federal judge during his failed 2017 confirmation hearing.[28] The authors of Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies (2006) gave the film its highest rating along with several films based on real trials, such as Judgment at Nuremberg and Breaker Morant.[29] In 2008 the ABA Journal ranked the film #3 on its list of the "25 Greatest Legal Movies",[13] and in 2010 ranked Pesci's character as #12 on its list of "The 25 Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Who Are Not Atticus Finch)".[30]
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 attempted to accurately depict the legal process in My Cousin Vinny, favorably comparing it to Trial and Error, for which he could not make what he believed were necessary changes.[16]
Sequels
Proposed film
In an interview on March 14, 2012, the film's screenwriter, Dale Launer, talked about a sequel he had written involving Vinny Gambini practicing law in England. Marisa Tomei dropped out. The studio hired another screenwriter to rework the script without Tomei's character. Eventually, the project was shelved.[31]
Novel 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.[32] After additionally writing a novelization of My Cousin Vinny alongside the first sequel, a third book, titled Wing and a Prayer, was published in August 2020.[33]
Album
Pesci reprised the Vinny 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.[34]
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect. A redirect examination, performed by the attorney or pro se individual who performed the direct examination, clarifies the witness' testimony provided during cross-examination including any subject matter raised during cross-examination but not discussed during direct examination. Recross examination addresses the witness' testimony discussed in redirect by the opponent. Depending on the judge's discretion, opponents are allowed multiple opportunities to redirect and recross examine witnesses.
Marisa Tomei is an American actress. She gained prominence for her comedic performance in My Cousin Vinny (1992), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received further nominations in the category for In the Bedroom (2001) and The Wrestler (2008).
In law, the bar is the legal profession as an institution. The term is a metonym for the line that separates the parts of a courtroom reserved for spectators and those reserved for participants in a trial such as lawyers.
Joseph Frank Pesci is an American actor and musician. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Irishman (2019). He has received several awards including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award with nominations for three Golden Globe Awards.
The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American male teenagers accused in Alabama of raping two white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white juries, rushed trials, and disruptive mobs. It is commonly cited as an example of a legal injustice in the United States legal system.
Ralph George Macchio Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three Karate Kid films, the 1984 film The Karate Kid and its sequels, The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989), as well as in Cobra Kai, a sequel television series on Netflix. He also played Johnny Cade in The Outsiders (1983), Jeremy Andretti in the television series Eight Is Enough, William Gambini in My Cousin Vinny (1992), Eugene Martone in Crossroads (1986), and Archie Rodriguez in the television series Ugly Betty. He also had a recurring role as Officer Haddix in the television series The Deuce.
Find Me Guilty is a 2006 American courtroom comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Sidney Lumet. The film is based on the true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history. Much of the courtroom testimony was taken from the original court transcripts. Vin Diesel stars as Jackie DiNorscio, a New Jersey mobster who is on trial with 19 of his colleagues for racketeering. A wrench is thrown into the system when DiNorscio fires his lawyer and decides to represent himself. The film also stars Peter Dinklage, Linus Roache, Alex Rocco, and Ron Silver.
Mitchell Whitfield is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Farber in Friends (1994–2000), Dr. Bruce Hampton in Minor Adjustments (1995–1996), and Stan Rothenstein in My Cousin Vinny (1992).
Dale Launer is an American screenwriter, film director and producer, best known for his work in comedy films. His films include Ruthless People, Blind Date, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and My Cousin Vinny.
Trial and Error is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels and Charlize Theron. The film's plot concerns an attorney and his actor friend, who takes his place in court to defend his boss's hopelessly guilty relative.
Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You is the second studio album from actor and singer Joe Pesci.
In the law of the United States of America, an objection is a formal protest raised in court during a trial to disallow a witness's testimony or other evidence in violation of the rules of evidence or other procedural law. An objection is typically raised after the opposing party asks a question of the witness, but before the witness can answer, or when the opposing party is about to enter something into evidence. The judge then makes a ruling on whether the objection is "sustained" or "overruled". An attorney may choose to "rephrase" a question that has been objected to, so long as the judge permits it. Lawyers should make an objection before there is an answer to the question. Research finds that frequent objections by attorneys do not alienate jurors.
Trial films is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.
The Boys is a 1962 British courtroom drama film, directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Richard Todd, Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer.The screenplay was by Stuart Douglass.
Kaydyacha Bola is a 2005 Indian Marathi-language dark comedy courtroom drama film directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni and produced by Uday Tamhankar. The film was released in Maharashtra on 4 November 2005 and stars an ensemble cast of Makarand Anaspure, Sharvari Jamenis, Sachin Khedekar, Mohan Agashe, Nirmiti Sawant, Umesh Kamat, Akshay Pendse and Amita Khopkar. The film is adapted from Jonathan Lynn's My Cousin Vinny (1992).
A court show is a broadcast programming subgenre comprising legal dramas and reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal hearings between plaintiffs and defendants presided over in one of two formats: scripted/improvised with an actor portraying a judge; or an arbitration-based reality format with the case handled by an adjudicator who was formerly a judge or attorney.
The Sunshine in the Courtroom Act is a bill to allow the broadcasting of U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals proceedings. The name of the bill is an apparent reference to Louis Brandeis' remark that "sunshine is the best disinfectant" for ill-doings. The proposed act relates to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, which states, "Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom."
Paul Schiff is an American film producer.
In court proceedings in the United States, a Perry Mason moment is said to have occurred whenever information is unexpectedly, and often dramatically, introduced into the record that changes the perception of the proceedings greatly and often influences the outcome. Often it takes the form of a witness's answer to a question, but it can sometimes come in the form of new evidence. It takes its name from Perry Mason, a fictional character in novels and stories written by Erle Stanley Gardner, where such dramatic reversals occurred, often in the form of witnesses confessing to crimes others were accused of in response to the sudden exposure of an inconsistency in their alibi.
Ewing Athletics is an American basketball shoe brand. Shoe production is done by privately held company GPF Footwear LLC established in 2011.
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