So, just as we are about to reach Easter, I figured I woul try and get another post in and having recently re-watched one of my favourite comedy films from the 90's, My Cousin Vinny, I thought I would give it another look and revisit my previous post on it (which itself was a revisitation again!).
So, after 32 years, let's take another look at this legal comedy and see how it stands up in court (so to speak!)...
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So the film begins with two
college students , Billy Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stanley Rothenstein
(Mitchell Whitfield) while heading through Beechum country in Alabama,
accidentally forget to pay for a can of tuna after leaving a convenience
store. However minutes after they leave the store, the store owner is
murdered and a police officer pull over Bill and Stan and detain them as they
are treated as two suspects for the murder.
At the station due to
miscommunications and the two boys believing they have been arrested for
shoplifting, Bill unwittingly and mistakenly admits to the crime of
shoplifting but asks "I shot the clerk?" which Sherriff Farley (Bruce
McGill) mistakes for a confession. And as result he is booked on a
charge of murder, and Stan as an accessory to murder. In need of legal
assistance, Billy speaks to his mother on the phone whom tells them they
have an attorney in the family, Billy's cousin, Vincent LaGuardio
"Vinny" Gambini (Joe Pesci). Vinny agrees to take the case and travels
up to Alabama along with fiancee, Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei). However
Vinny has no real experience as a lawyer and he has only recently
passed the bar exam (after six attempts) and only deals in personal
injury and therefore has no trial experience whatsoever.
And
to make matters worse Vinny despite convincing the courthouse judge,
Chamberlain Haller
(Fred Gwynne) he has the experience to take on the
case, his lack of understanding of basic court procedures and somewhat
abrasive nature get's him into trouble with Haller, who at the
arraignment holds Vinny in contempt of court. As the case proceeds
Vinny continues to infuriate Haller who puts in contempt of court again
as he is put in jail overnight and is bailed out by Lisa.
Vinny also
eventually meets up with the prosecution lawyer and DA, Jim Trotter
(Lane Smith) for a hunting trip, whom he manages to get his files for
the case, without realising that he is fully entitled to, due to the
procedure of full disclosure, which Lisa later on reveals to him after
reading the state procedural law book that Haller gave Vinny. As the
trial is set to begin, Stan decides to fire Vinny and go with the public
defender, John Gibbons (Austin Pendleton) but Vinny manages to convince Billy from
not doing the same and to give him one more chance to question the first
witness.
On the first day of the trial, Vinny shows up
in a secondhand tuxedo (due to a mishap with it landing in a muddy field)
and get's in trouble with Haller again who holds him in contempt yet again.
As the trial begins however, the public defender, Gibbons proves to be next to
useless as he suffers from a bad stammer and fails to make an impression
on the jurors. Vinny on the other hand finally shows his worth as he
questions the first witness, Sam Tipton (Maury Chaykin) and discredits his testimony, which leads
Stan to fire the public defender and go with Vinny.
After this Vinny
starts to become more adept in the law process as he adapts his style of
questioning and learns quickly on procedure as he makes impressive
progress with the remaning witnesses. However Trotter turns up with a
surprise witness, a FBI analyst, George Wilbur (James Rebhorn) who provides a report that shows
evidence that the tyre track marks left by the vehicle that left the
scene of the crime are identical to those on Billy and Stan's car.
Vinny frustrated with this information and seemingly with no way to win
the case, Vinny during lunch has a row with Lisa who storms out. But
back in the court house, Vinny finds a photo that holds the key to the
trial which shows the tyre marks of the car could not be made by Billy's
1964 Buick Skylark, but by a different car. But in order to win the
trial he will need to rely on getting Lisa back in time to take the
stand and give testimony which will hold the case in the balance for
Billy and Stan...
THOUGHTS
As far as comedies go, My Cousin
Vinny certainly has plenty going for it and it was a success on its
initial release both commercially and critically. The film also
received plaudits from lawyers who said it was quite accurate in its
potrayal of courtroom procedures and that in itself was something the
director Jonathan Lynn was keen to get over, as he himself said how he
disliked films where they got the law procedures wrong. Lynn himself
was also a law graduate as he has a law degree from Cambridge
university.
The film's
comedy also works well as it simply draws on a comedy of errors, or as
the tagline "a comedy of trial and error" and miscommunications of which
there are plenty in the film, also combined with Vinny's amusing
ignorance in the face of the law and how his argumentative nature while
it get's him into alot of trouble it ultimately helps him towards his
goal.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and also strong language!)
So moving onto the performances which are all excellent from its fine cast.
And to start off we have Joe Pesci who is great in his role as Vinny, as he plays him as a
good natured, intelligent, well meaning yet stubborn and argumentative
guy, who bluffs his way through most of the court procedure until he
begins to find his feet towards the end. Pesci himself funnily enough would later go on to record an album of songs sung in the character of Vinny Gambini in 1998, which was called Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just For You, which unfortunately got negative reviews.
And some of Vinny's funniest moments include when he first meets
with Billy and Stan, and as Billy lies asleep in their cell, Vinny get's
off on the wrong foot with Stan, as Stan thinks Vinny wants sexual
favours. And in the scene Stan appears ungrateful and anxious with
Vinny at first as Vinny says "Its either me or them. You're getting
fucked one way or another!" and Stan says "Gee thanks". And this annoys
Vinny who says to Stan "Excuse me, I think a modicum of gratitude would
not be out of line here". And Stan says to Vinny "You think I should
be grateful??" and Vinny says "Yeah, I think you should be grateful. I
think you should be down on your fuckin knees!". And as Stan says to
Vinny he has one hell of an ego, Vinny angrily says to him "
What the fuck is your problem? I did not come down here just to get
jerked off!".
Also there is his scene out in Trotter's cabin
(who Trotter lends to Vinny for the weekend) where Vinny fails to get
to sleep for so many nights in a row, he is woken up by an owl, yelling
"What the fuck is that?!". So Vinny loads up Trotter's magnum and he
runs out side firing the gun at open air and after a moment of silence,
Vinny smugly walks back into the cabin but then we hear the owl
squawk again.
Another highlight for Joe is in the scene where Lisa gives her
"biological clock" speech and Vinny, who has enough on his plate tells
in no certain terms he doesn't need her woes just now. So he says to
his fiancee "
Lisa, I don't need this. I swear to God, I do not need this right now,
okay? I've got a judge that's just aching to throw me in jail. An idiot
who wants to fight me for two hundred dollars. Slaughtered pigs. Giant
loud whistles. I ain't slept in five days. I got no money, a dress code
problem, AND a little murder case which, in the balance, holds the lives
of two innocent kids. Not to mention your... (taps his foot) BIOLOGICAL
CLOCK - my career, your life, our marriage, and let me see,
what else can we pile on?!!! Is there any more SHIT we can pile on to
the
top of the outcome of this case??!!! IS IT POSSIBLE???!!". So Lisa
finally relents and says "Maybe it was a bad time to bring it up".
The scene where Vinny shows up in court for the day of
the trial is also hilarious as he walks into the court wearing a cheesy
looking tuxedo, and he explains to Haller why he is wearing it. So in
the scene Vinny says to Haller "I bought a suit. You seen it. Now it's
covered in mud. This town doesn't
have a one hour cleaner so I had to buy a new suit, except the only
store you could buy a new suit in has got the flu. Got that? The whole
store got the flu so I had to get this in a second hand store. So it's
either wear the leather jacket, which I know you hate, or this. So, I
wore this ridiculous thing for you!".
Pesci also
has some fun in the courtroom scenes also, such as in the scene where Vinny shows some pictures of one of the witness's trailers and the dirt on the screen and bushes and trees in the way of the view out his trailer.
So, Vinny asks the witness, Ernie Crane "So, Mr. Crane, you can positively identify the defendants, for a moment of two seconds, looking through this dirty window, this crud-covered screen, all of these trees, with all of these leaves on them, and I don't know how many bushes". So, Ernie looks at the picture and counts them "Five?" and Vinny says "Uh uh, you forgot this one and this one" and Ernie says "Seven" and Vinny says "Seven bushes. So, what do you think? Isn't it possible you just saw two guys in a green convertible and not necessarily these two particular guys?" and Ernie says "I suppose" and Vinny smugly says "I'm finished with this guy!".
particularly in one moment
where he questions an old lady who wears thick lens glasses, and he asks
her to make an ID of how many fingers he holds up from 50 feet away.
And in the scene Vinny asks the lady how many fingers he is holding up
as he holds up two fingers, but Haller interrupts his questioning and
says "Let the record know the counselour is holding up two fingers!" and
Vinny annoyed says "Your honour, please, huh?!" and Haller says "Oh,
sorry". So Vinny starts again "Right, Mrs
Reilly, and this time ONLY Mrs Reilly!" so he asks her again but she
get's it wrong and says "four" and he walks toward her still holding up
his two fingers saying "What do you think now, dear?" and the witness
says "I'm thinking of getting thicker glasses!".
Then there is the scene where Vinny on his lunch break from the
case, anxiously looks through all the evidence he has and he is joined
by Lisa, who Vinny is not in the mood for as she looks at him. And
Vinny says to her "What does that look mean? That I'm a piece of
shit?!" and she continues to look at him and Vinny relents and looks at
Lisa's picture she has brought and he says "Okay, your helping! We'll
use your pictures" and he starts to look through a series of snapshots
taken by Lisa and sarcastically comments on them.
And Vinny finishes off looking at the last few saying to Lisa as he
comments on each one "What's this over here? It's dog shit. Dog shit!
That's great! Dog shit,
what a clue! Why didn't I think of that? Here's one of me reading.
Terrific. I should've asked you along time ago for these pictures. Holy
shit, you got it, honey! You did it! The case cracker, me in the shower!
Ha ha! I love this! That's it!". And Lisa finally snaps and yells
"That IS IT!! I'm out of here!" and she storms out of the cafe, leaving
Vinny to chase after her but stop at the door and say "Lisa! I'm
sorry!". And he goes back to his seat and says to himself "I'm missin
something, I'm missing somethin!" and the camera zooms in on a key piece
of evidence: the tyre tracks of the car from the scene of the crime
that is alleged to be Billy's car.
Last of all is the scene where Vinny grabs a very reluctant Lisa and forces her into the courtroom as he has the key evidence in that picture with the tyre tracks, so he tries to put her on the stand but she attempts to walk out.
So, Vinny says to the Judge "I call my first wintess, Mona Lisa Vito, who I call to rebut the testimony of George Wilbur" and Lisa frees herself from his grip and walks away but Vinny says "Your honor, would you please instruct the bailiff to escort Miss Vito to the stand". So, Haller does so and the bailiff firmly takes Lisa and leads her to the witness stand. So, Vinny then questions Lisa "Miss Vito, you are an expert automobiles, is that correct?" and she ignores him and Vinny asks "Is that correct?" and he looks to Haller who says "Will you please answer the question" and Lisa angrily says "No, I hate him!". Vinny then asks "Your honor, I would like to ask permission to treat Miss Vito as a hostile witness" and Lisa "You think I'm hostile now, wait until you see me tonight!".
So, Vinny finally get's Lisa to look at the picture of the tyre tracks and says to her "Miss Vito, it has been argued by me, the defence, that two sets of guys drove two 1964 metallic mint green Buick Syklarks drove to the Sac of Suds at the same time. Now from what you can see in the picture, does the defence's case hold water?". Lisa examines the photo and Vinny asks her again "Miss Vito, please answer the question, does the defence's case hold water?" and Lisa with a look of surprise says "No! The defence is wrong!". Vinny then smiles and asks her "Are you sure?" and Lisa grins and says "I'm positive" and Vinny asks "How can you be sure?" and Lisa says "Because there is no way these marks were made by a 1964 Buick Skylark, these marks were made by a 1963 Pontiac Tempest!" and Vinny nods and smiles. Vinny then with a fake sense of incredulity says "I find hard to be believe this sort of information could ascertained, simply by look at a picture!" and Lisa asks "Would you like me to explain?" and Vinny, delighted sits on the court table and says "I would LOVE to hear this!".
So, Lisa goes into a very detailed and impressive explanation as to why it is a 1963 Pontiac Tempest in the photo and Vinny concludes by asking her "And because both cars were made by GM, were both cars available in metallica mint green paint?!" and Lisa delighted says "They were!". So, Vinny triumphantly says to her "Thank you Miss Vito. No more questions. Thank you very, very much!" and he kisses her hands and says "You've been a lovely, lovely witness!".
Getting onto other performances, Marisa
Tomei is also great in her role as Vinny's long suffering girlfriend, Lisa,
who has worked as a mechanic in her father's garage and has extensive
automotive knowledge.
And whether or not Marisa's performance warrants on
Oscar or not is up for debate but there is no doubt she brings a great
mixture of being sassy, sexy and above all very intelligent, and when it
comes to holding an argument she is Vinny's equal.
Tomei has a few
standout moments in the film, which include "biological clock" scene
where she complains to Vinny about how she thinks they will never get
married. And in the scene Lisa anxiously paces around Trotter's log
cabin and she tells him what's on her mind "ou wanna know what I'm
nervous about? I'll tell you what I'm nervous
about! I am in the dark here with all this legal crap. I have no idea
what's going on. All I know is that you're screwing up and I can't
help!". And Vinny almost sarcastically says to her "You left me a
little camera, didn't you?" and Lisa anxiously continues "Oh, Vinny! I'm
watching you go down in flames, and you're bringing me with you and I
can't do anything about it!".
And Vinny, who can see where this is going asks "And?" and Lisa says to
him "
Well, I hate to bring it up, because I know you've got enough pressure
on you already. But we agreed to get married as soon as you won your
first case. Meanwhile, TEN YEARS LATER, my niece, the daughter of my
sister is getting married. My biological clock is (taps her foot loudly)
TICKING LIKE THIS and the way this case is going, I ain't never getting
married!".
And then there is the scene where she get's her best line in
the whole film when Vinny says to her that he is going out hunting with
Trotter and she disagrees with him and storms out the room. And when
Vinny asks her about what she thinks about the pants he is wearing (or
trousers to us Brits and Scots!) she comes out and says "Imagine you are
a dear, you spot a brook and put your little lips to the soft water.
BAM!! A fucking bullet rips part of your head off, and your brains are
lying on the ground in little bloody pieces! Now I ask you, would you
give a fuck what kind of pants the son of a bitch who shot you was
wearing??!!!".
And another funny moment between Lisa and Vinny comes when Vinny arrives
back in town with the car and he get's out and says to Lisa what he's
got to do. And Vinny angrily says "
I got thirty fucking minutes to take a shower, get a new suit, get
dressed and get to the fucking courthouse!" and Lisa replies by saying
"You fucking shower, I'll get your fucking suit!".
And lastly there is the scene when Lisa give her testimony in the courtroom scene for Vinny and at
first when Haller asks her to answer Vinny's questions she says "No, I
hate him!" and Vinny asks if he can treat her as a hostile witness and
Lisa relies "You think I'm hostile just now, wait till you see me
tonight!".
So, in the scene Vinny gives Lisa the picture of the tyre tracks and asks her if the defence's case holds water referring to possibility of two identical Buick Skylarks being driven at the same time. So, in the scene, Lisa looks at the picture and after a moment she says "No! The defence is wrong!" and Vinny smiles and asks "Are you sure?" and Lisa breaks a smile and says "I'm positive" and Vinny asks "How can you be sure?" and Lisa says "Because there is no way these marks were made by a 1964 Buick Skylark, these marks were made by a 1963 Pontiac Tempest" and Vinny nods. Trotter however stands up asks "Objection your honour, I would like to confirm if the witness is stating their opnion or fact?" and Lisa says firmly "Its a fact!".
So, as Vinny mockingly says out loud "I find it hard to believe that this sort of information could be ascertained, simply by look at a picture!" and Lisa says "Would you like me to explain?" and Vinny says "I would LOVE to hear this!" and Haller even says "So would I". So, Lisa explains "The car that made these two, equal-length tire marks had positraction. You can't make those marks without positraction, which was not available on the '64 Buick Skylark!". So, Vinny asks "So, why not? What is positraction?" and Lisa says "It's a limited slip differential which distributes power equally to both the right and left tires. The '64 Skylark had a regular differential, which, anyone who's been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you step on the gas, one tire spins, the other tire does nothing".
Vinny then asks "Is that it?" and Lisa says "No there's more. You see? When the left tire mark goes up on the curb and the right tire mark stays flat and even? Well, the '64 Skylark had a solid rear axle, so when the left tire would go up on the curb, the right tire would tilt out and ride along its edge. But that didn't happen here. The tire mark stayed flat and even. This car had an independent rear suspension. Now, in the '60s, there were only two other cars made in America that had positraction, and independent rear suspension, and enough power to make these marks. One was the Corvette, which could NEVER be confused with the Buick Skylark. The other had the same body length, height, width, weight, wheel base, and wheel track as the '64 Skylark, and that was the 1963 Pontiac Tempest!" and she triumphantly puts the photo down. So, as Vinny asks her were both cars available in mint green paint and she smiles and says "They were!" and with that one Oscar landed in her hands! ;-)
Fred Gwynne is
terrific in his role as the cranky old judge, Haller, who takes an
instant disliking towards Vinny and his cavalier attitude to the law.
This was also sadly Gwynne's final performance on film before his death
the following year in 1993 at the age of 66.
Gwynne's exchanges with Pesci are clearly
some of the film's funniest moments, especially in the scene with the
arraignment where he pulls up Vinny for just about everything, from his
appearance to his lack of knowledge on proper procedure. And he says to Vinny "It
appears to me you want to skip the arraignment, skip trial and ask for a
dismissal!" and "the next words I want to hear out of you are either
guilty or not guilty. It don't wanna hear commentary or argument. I
don't even want to hear you clear your throat!".
Then there is the funny moment where the DA, Trotter, the prosecution
gives his opening speech to the jury to lay down Billy and Stan's guilt
for the crime. And when it comes to Vinny's turn he has nothing to say
and afterward, Haller adjourns the court and looks at Vinny
disdainfully, who is still wearing his leather jacket. And Haller says
to Vinny "Mr Gambini, stand up!" and Vinny stands up and Haller says
"Now didn't I tell you the next time I see you in this court you were to
dress appropriately?!" and Vinny looks on confused and says "You were
serious about that?!" and we cut to Vinny on the prison bus with Billy
and Stan.
And then comes the scene
where Vinny questions the first witness and he says "Is it possible that
the two youths..." and cause of his accent Haller has to ask Vinny what
he said, "What was that word?". And Vinny says "What?" and Haller asks
"Two what?" and Vinny asks again "What?" and Haller asks "Did you say a
yute?" and Vinny again says in his accent "Yeah two youths!" and
Haller finally asks "What is a yute?" and Vinny finally get it and
sarcastically replies "Oh I'm sorry your honor. Two youths!".
And lastly there is the scene when Haller asks to speak to Vinny in his
chambers as they approach the end of the case. And Haller holds a fax
in his hand regarding Vinny's claim that he used another for practising
law "Jerry Gallo" who was a real lawyer but he had died recently. So in
the scene Haller says to Vinny "You're a dead man!" and Vinny anxiously
says "I'm a dead man??" and Haller says to Vinny "I faxed the clerk of
New York and asked him what he knew about Jerry Gallo. You wannna know
what he replied?". So Vinny tries to bluff his way out of it by saying
"Did you say "Jerry Gallo"? Gallo with a G?" and Haller says "That's
right" and Vinny replies "Jerry Gallo's dead!" and Haller looks at the
fax and says testily "I'm AWARE of that!". And Vinny bluffs Haller
again and says to him "I'm Jerry Callow! C-A-L-L-O!".
So they go into Haller's office who is fed up and tries to call the New
York clerk's office again but doesn't get through. So Haller says to a
very nervous Vinny "He's gonna call back after three. That gives you a
stay of execution. Unless by some miracle you win this case in the next
90 minutes! Why don't you go to lunch".
Ralph
Macchio also does fine with his role as the innocent college kid,
Billy, who ends up on trial for his life, and Ralph despite being 31 or
32 at the time, with his everlasting youthful looks manages to continue
playing teenagers or youngsters in their early 20s!
And Ralph's best scenes include the scene where Billy and Stan having
been arrested are questioned by Sheriff Farley (Bruce McGill) at the
police station and Farley tries to get Billy to confess about the
murder. And in the scene Farley asks Billy regarding the murder of the
store clerk "When did you shoot him?" and Billy, confused, asks "What?"
and Farley asks "At what point did you shoot the clerk?". And Billy,
stunned, asks "I shot the clerk?" and Farley asks again "Yes. When did
you shoot him??" and again Billy asks "I shot the clerk?!" but Farley is
called away from his office and then it starts to sink in for Billy
what is going on and jumps in surprise and yells "WHOA!!! WAIT A
MINUTE!!".
And lastly there is the scene when Billy tries to convince Stan that
Vinny, despite his slip ups so far in defending them, could still be the
right man for the job. And Billy tells Stan a story regarding Vinny
rumbling a magician's tricks at a wedding "Well, he did his act, and
every time he made something disappear, Vinny
jumped on him. I mean, he nailed him! It was like, "it's in his pocket",
or "he's palming it", you know? Or, "there's a mirror under the table."
I mean, he was like, he was like, "wait a second, wait a second, it's
joined in the middle, and there's a spring around it, it pops it open
when it's inside the tube." It was like Alakazam's worst nightmare.
Vinny was just being Vinny. He was just being the quintessential
Gambini!". And then the lights dim in the prison from the electric
chair being used to execute a convict and both young men look very
uncomfortable at the prospect of them being next.
Mitchell Whitfield also does well in his role as Stan, Billy's college
buddy, who is something of a neurotic guy who also has some amusing moments.
And Mitchell's good moments include the one where Billy has just learned
they have been booked for murdering the store clerk. And Billy asks
Stan "Do you know what this is all about?" and Stan says "Yeah, they're
fucking with us!" and Billy asks him "You don't believe them?" and Stan
says "They don't execute for shoplifting". And Billy asks Stan "You
think we're being booked for shoplifting" and Stan says "No, you're
being booked for shoplifting. I'm being booked for an accessory to
shoplifting!". And Stan tells Stan "No, Stan. I'm being booked for
murder, and you're being booked for an accessory to murder!".
And then after this in the next scene Stan calls his mother and Billy
says to his mother regarding the police "We think they're trying to set
us up as patsies. You know how it is, they're all corrupt down here".
And Stan loudly interrupts their
call saying "The Klan's here, they're inbred, they sleep with their
sisters!"
which get's some disproving looks from the police station staff and Stan
looks awkwardly and says "well some of them do!".
Then there is the scene where Billy has been convinced by Vinny to stay
on as his defence lawyer much to chagrin of Stan. And Stan refers to
Vinny's previous statement that he thinks they should give him the
chance to be their lawyer, so Stan says "He thinks you should give it to
him??? What was he in his last job?! A fucking comedian??!!". And
Billy says "It can't hurt, I mean if he asks the wrong questions then
your guy can still ask the right ones" and Stan says "No, he could still
fuck things up! There's more to cross-examination then knowing what to
say, its knowing what NOT to say! How did he ever talk you into
it?!". And Billy tells Stan the story about the magician at the wedding
Vinny attended, who kept catching out the magician's tricks and that
Vinny was just being the "quintessential Gambini". And at that point
the lights dim in the prison as one of the prisoners has been executed
in the electric chair and both of them look very nervous and Stan says
anxiously "there goes the quintessential Norton!".
And lastly there is the moment where Stan decides to go with the public
attorney, Gibbons, who turns out to have a bad stammer and get's nervous
when he questions the first witness. And after Vinny questions the
first witness and successfully discredits his testimony, Stan looks
angrily at Gibbons and says "You're fired!" and he stands and shouts to
the judge, pointing at Vinny "I want HIM!".
Lane Smith is also excellent as the DA, Jim Trotter, and he provides an
unusual Southern quirkiness to his role in his delivery which adds nicely to his performance.
And Smith has some highlights too such as the scene where
Trotter gives his opening statement to the jury and he says to them
"You're the jury. It's your job to decide who's telling the truth.
Truth.
That's what 'verdict' means. It's a word comes down from Old England
and all our little old ancestors!".
And then there is the scene where FBI anaylst, George Wilbur, reveals
the tyre marks of the accused's car to be
identical to the marks of the tyres found after the killer's made their
getaway. And as Trotter asks "Now, Mr Wilbur. What was the result of
your analysis?" and Wilbur says "The chemical composition between the
two examples was found to be identical". And then Trotter announces to
the court "I----dentical!" as he smacks his hands together in between
the "I" and "dentical".
And lastly there is the scene where Vinny calls Lisa to the stand to
give testimony and Trotter questions Lisa's expertise on cars with
herself having being an auto mechanic. So Trotter asks Lisa "Now, uh,
Ms. Vito, being an expert on general automotive knowledge, can
you tell me... what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel
Air Chevrolet, with a 327 cubic-inch engine and a four-barrel
carburetor?!". And Lisa incredulously says "That's a bullshit
question!" and Trotter goes up close to her and asks "Does that mean you
can't answer it?!" and Lisa says "Its a bullshit question, its
impossible to answer!" and Trotter teasingly says "Impossible because
YOU don't know the ANSWER!". And Trotter rather smugly says to Haller
"Your Honor, I move to disqualify Ms. Vito as a "expert witness"!" and
as Haller asks Lisa why she can't answer the question she tells him it
is a trick one and the reason why much to the surprise of both Haller
and Trotter. And after, Trotter looks somewhat embarrassed and says
akwardly "Um...she's acceptable, your honor".
And then we have Austin Pendelton who provides a hilarious
performance
as the nervy public defender, John Gibbons, who suffers from a bad
stammer and he
get's a bad case of nerves in front of the jury on the first day of the
trial as he tries to address them "Ladies and gentlmen of the
jjjjjjjjjjjj...jury! My client did indeed visit the Sac-o-Suds
c..c.convenience store but-but he...he didn't kill anyone. And we
intend to prove that the pppppppppp....prosecution's case is
circumstancial and and-and-and circumstancial. Thank you!".
And then there is the scene where Gibbons questions the first witness,
Mr Tipton and he asks him "Mr T-T-T-....Tipton! Now when you viewed my
clients, how far away were you from them?" and Tipton says "about 50
feet". And Gibbons says to him "Now, do you think that's close enough
to make a positive i-i-i-i-i-identification???". And Gibbons goes on to
try and discredit Tipton's testimony based on him not wearing his
glasses when he witness the two men fleeing the store but Tipton tells
him the glasses he wears are simply for reading and he goes on to
successfully tell the colour of Billy and Stan's eyes. So after Gibbons
unsuccessfully sits down and says to Stan "Boy he's a tough one!" and
Stan complains to him, and the defender says "I get a little nervous.
I'm getting better!".
And lastly Bruce McGill who has always been a reliable veteran actor also provides a fine performance as Sheriff
Farley.
And McGill has a couple of scenes worth mentioning such as the one where
Farley questions Billy about what happened at the store. And Farley
asks Billy "Did Stan try and stop you at anytime" and Billy says "No. I
mean he was..." and Billy notices Farley write something down on a
piece of paper on his desk. And Billy asks "Is that a big deal?" and
Farley says "Aidin and abettin!" and Billy asks "Aiding and abbetting??
Is that a major thing?" and Farley laughs out "Oh yeah! Yeah!".
And then in the scene just after Farley questions Stan, thinking Stan is
an accessory to the murder that Billy is alleged to have committed.
And in the scene Farley asks Stan "You didn't try and stop it?" and Stan
says "No, I found out later in the car" and Farley asks him "Why didn't
you get out and the call the police then?" and Stan says He's my
friend" and Farley says to Stan "Well your friend has put you in alot of
trouble!". And before Farley leaves, Stan asks him "What is going to
happen to Bill?" and Farley says "Nothing. Unless he's convicted. If
he is, we're gonna run enough electricity through him to light up
Birmingham!" (Birmingham, Alabama that is!).
WARNING: BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH
Lastly, there is the scene where Farley is called to the stand to provide a key piece of evidence at the end of the trial where Vinny asked him to trace a car. So, as Farley sits in the witness stand, Vinny asks him "So, Sheriff Farley, what did you find out?" and Farley says "On a hunch, I took it upon myself to check out if there was any information on a '63 Pontiac Tempest stolen or abandoned recently" Farley then points to his print out "This computer readout confirms that two boys, who fit the defendants' description, were arrested two days ago by Sheriff Tillman in Jasper County, Georgia, for driving a stolen metallic mint green 1963 Pontiac Tempest, with a white convertible top, Michelin Model XGV tires, size 75-R-14". Vinny during this smugly walks around the court and looks to Trotter, who looks annoyed. So, Vinny then asks "Is that it?" and Farley says "No, a .357 magnum revolver was found in their possession" and Vinny asks "Just refresh the court's memory, what caliber bullet was used to murder Jimmy Willis?" and Farley says ".357 Magnum" and Vinny smugly says "The defence rests!".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
As for the film's director, Jonathan Lynn, he does a fine job, as
he is no stranger
to comedy, having previously been behind Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime
Minister as well as previously directing the British farce, Nuns on the
run (starring Robbie Coltrane and
Eric Idle). And Lynn keeps the film's tone nice and light hearted and
only
in one or two scenes does he highlight the danger the two young college
kids are in, such as the scene where Billy and Stan see the lights dim
in their cell as the electric chair is used elsewhere in the prison.
But for the most part Lynn get's the tone of the comedy just right and
he keeps the film moving at a nice pace which rarely lags.
And lastly moving onto the music, Randy Edelman provides a
pleasant, jaunty score that fits the film rather nicely even if the
score isn't overly memorable it is still fit for purpose and is perfect
for the film's comedic tone. The soundtrack also features the upbeat and country themed track "Way Down South" performed by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which plays during the opening credits, which is OK but nothing too special imho.
FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain the odd spoiler!)
So
flaws.....yes My Cousin Vinny does have some (for a moment that almost reads like he was my cousin!).
And for me part of the film's problems are to do with its padded length
as it does take
its time before we finally get to the courtroom scenes and to the nitty
gritty of the film, with some inconsequential moments in the film. And
such moments include Vinny arguing with a town local who owes Lisa
money for a game of
pool, which we come to a few times before Vinny finally pounces on him
and takes the money, which is admittedly quite a funny moment.
Then there is the scene where Vinny and Lisa decide to spend the night
out in their car rather than stay in Trotter's log cabin but in the
morning they find the car is stuck in the mud. And in the scene Vinny
get's out his car and goes flying on his arse and ends up covered in mud
but when he tries to get up and he suddenly slips and falls face down
so he is covered in mud on both sides. However the way it is done is
pretty obvious and a bit pat that Vinny would end up slipping face down
as well and its one of the comedic scenes in the film that, no pun
intended, does fall flat.
And perhaps if you want to be really picky you
could get argue there are some moments where the film's logic and
timeframe is a bit muddled. And as an exmaple starter there is the scene where Vinny and Lisa argue over a
dripping tap and if Lisa turned the tap firmly enough to fully shut it
off, she goes through a whole spiel of how the engineers who installed
the taps made sure it was "dead on balls accurate" for turning on and
off or for "torquage". But instead of arguing about it, why didn't
Vinny just get out of bed and go over twist the tap to see if it would
stop dripping or not, rather than make a song and dance about it!
Another thing, I found a bit strange was how Haller didn't realise that Vinny and Lisa knew each other when he questioned her on the stand, as he had seen them together in the courtroom this whole time, surely he must have twigged they knew each other in some capacity! However, Haller doesn't seem to have noticed but I guess he was more concerned with the case instead of who was in the courthouse and who knows who.
And lastly there is the moment where Vinny tells Lisa during lunch as
the case draws to an end that Haller found out that Jerry Gallo was dead
but in the scene he didn't tell her that he bluffed Haller again and
said his name started with a "C" and not a "G" i.e. Jerry Callo.
However later on at the end of the film after the case has finished,
Haller commends Vinny and tells him that he got a fax through telling
him that he was a recognised trial lawyer. And afterward as they drive
off, Lisa tells Vinny that she called his friend, Judge Molloy and told
him to do her a favour and send a letter confirming was Jerry Callo, but
again Vinny didn't tell her! So this scene at the end doesn't make any
sense as Lisa couldn't possibly know that Vinny bluffed Haller in the
first place and it remains the film's main plot hole.
Update: however, it is is possible that Vinny could have told Lisa about the Jerry Callo thing after he won the case and she went and made the call to help him then before they run into Haller. You could also argue that she was making the phone call in the courthouse to Vinny's friend, Judge Malloy but at that point he hadn't told her though, so its unlikely.
Oh and an additional last of all here and this is a big one, there is arguably one big flaw in the film with the exception of one line from the prosecution lawyer Trotter mentions, is completely overlooked and that is the absence of a murder weapon. I mean at no other point in the film was there any mention of Billy and Stanley being accused of having a gun or being interrogated as to what they did with the alleged weapon they used to kill the store owner. So, this to me is a real big oversight by the writers, which was glossed over and mentioned in just one line by Trotter where he said "I'd like to have the murder weapon" and apart from that NOTHING else is made of the fact that neither of the boys HAD a weapon to shoot the clerk with! But then again, the police probably assumed that Billy and Stan threw it away or something before they were arrested.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So, to sum up, My Cousin Vinny is still a very funny and enjoyable comedy, which is also very clever and well written and deservedly got plaudits for its depiction of legal procedure. The film also features great performances particularly from Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, who won the best supporting actress Oscar and Fred Gwynne, in his final onscreen performance prior to his death a year later from the release of the film. So, 32 years on this comedy is still great and provides many laughs and is well worth a look.
So, with that, I will rate My Cousin Vinny.
9 out of 10
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