Director Jonathan Lynn has made some real bangers in this lane among Vinny, Clue, Nuns on the Run, and The Whole Nine Yards. Also some real guilty pleasure flicks like Sgt. Bilko with Steve Martin and Trial and Error with Michael Richards at the hight of his Seinfeld fame. Has only done two movies this century though in The Fighting Temptations, staring Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr., and Wild Target, neither of which I've seen or even heard of.
Pretty great cast. Stars Pesci, Ralph Macchio, the always lovely Marisa Tomei, and featuring Fred Gwynne (mostly remembered as Herman Munster) in his final film appearance.
Gist of the flick is two young New Yorkers driving cross country (one played by Macchio who looks 19 but is actually in his 30s) are wrongfully accused of a murder while in Alabama, which doesn't fuck around on crime unless you're a Republican pedophile. With no money, they are grad students, they turn to Macchio's cousin, Vinny Gambini (Pesci), who has just recently become a lawyer and doesn't know shit. Accompanied by his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito (Tomei), Vinny defends the two in court to my terror. Watching this as an adult with some understanding of the legal system (I used to report crime), there are like five mistrials and a serious case of ineffectual counsel, which luckily doesn't come into play.
Also, the “yutes” have major issues with communication for college grads. The whole thing should have been cleared up in minutes, but these two “accidentally” confess to murder, which I hear happens all the time, especially in the southern United States.
Love a courtroom dramady. Don't see too many of those anymore. Also, Tomei, who is great in this, won a fucking Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, which seems unreal. Must have been an off year. She's been on my radar ever since though. Very important to young AB's development, I'll tell ya... Yeah.
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