My Cousin Vinny

The New York Times
The Living Arts
Friday, March 13, 1992

A FLASHY NEW LAWYER IN AN UNFLASHLY TOWN
By Vincent Canby

It's easy to recommend "My Cousin Vinny" from the moment early on when Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei), a vivid young woman from Brooklyn with a fondness for overstated clothes, gets out of the car of longtime fiancé, Vinny Gambini (Joe Pesci), in Wahzoo, Ala. Her first remark, uttered as a kind of informed hunch: "I bet the Chinese food in this town in terrible."

It's even easier when Vinny, a New York lawyer who passed his bar examination six weeks earlier (after six tries), starts to prepare his case, which is to defend his nephew and his nephew's pal, who have been charged with capital offense. It is not only Vinny's first time in Alabama, but also his first time inside a courtroom as a lawyer.

His black leather jacket, black sweater and gold chains offend the judge (Fred Gwynne). When Vinny refers to the young defendants as "these two yutes," the judge behaves as if Vinny is speaking an especially esoteric Balkan dialect.

"My Cousin Vinny" is easily the most inventive and enjoyable American film farce in a long time, even during those extended patches when it seems to be marking time or when it continues with a running gag that can't stay the distance.

The film has a secure and sophisticated sense of what makes farce so delicious, which may not be surprising, since its credentials are about as impeccable as you can find in the peccable atmosphere of Hollywood.

It was written by Dale Launer, who wrote "Ruthless People" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and directed by Jonathan Lynn, the Englishman who wrote and directed "Nuns on the Run" and collaborated on the scripts for the English television series "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister." They are very funny men.

"My Cousin Vinny" takes a little while to get going. Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield), a couple of innocent young New Yorkers, are driving through Alabama on their way to college when they stop at a convenience store for supplies. As a lark, Bill shoplifts a can of tunafish.

When they are stopped a short time later by the county sheriff (Bruce McGill) and hauled off to jail, Bill confesses. "Was it premeditated?" asks the sheriff. Bill says it was just a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. Says the sheriff, "We're going to run enough electricity through you to light up Birmingham."

Bill and Stan don't know it, but they've just been booked for the murder of the convenience store operator, who was very much alive when they left him. This begin the succession of epic misunderstandings and the talking at cross-purposes that keep one laughing with "My Cousin Vinny" past the point of absolute necessity.

The cast is very good. Mr. Pesci, recently the embodiment of out-of-control evil in "Goodfellas" and a burglar of singular ineptitude in "Home Alone," is a puzzled delight as he attempts to gather his wits, being helped not at all by Mona Lisa's loudly articulated common sense and her ability to read law books and retain their contents.

Ms. Tomei, who appeared with Sylvester Stallone in "Oscar," gives every indication of being a fine comedian, whether towering over Mr. Pesci and trying to look small, or arguing about a leaky faucet in terms that demonstrate her knowledge of plumbing. Mona Lisa is also a first-rate auto mechanic, which comes in handy in the untying of the knotted story.

Mr. Gwynne heads the collection of fine comic actors who appear in the supporting roles: Mr. McGill; Lane Smith as the courtly district attorney, and Austin Pendleton, who plays a sincerely motivated public defender whose only impediment is one of speech: he stutters under stress.

As sometimes happens in a farce, the characters around whom the action rages are played stoically (by Mr. Macchio and Mr. Whitfield), although their import to the proceedings is forgotten for long periods of time.

"My Cousin Vinny" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes much vulgar language.