Runtime: 120 minutes
Directed by: Jonathan Lynn
Starring: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Fred Gwynne, Lane Smith, Ralph Macchio
From: 20th Century Fox
This is another movie I DVR'ed last month when I had some premium channels available for free during a long weekend. Indeed it was something I watched in the 90's but to be frank I don't think I had seen this movie since the 90's. Of course I remembered bits and pieces (“Two Utes” being the keystone moment) but there's always the fear it was not as funny as was ingrained in my mind from my ute... I mean youth.
It's a standard Fish Out of Water tale as stereotypical New Yorkers are in rural Alabama. Two young men about to enter college are erroneously accused of murdering a gas station clerk so one has their lawyer cousin defend them... despite Vinny being so new that he somehow does not know basic procedure or even what discovery is. As expected he eventually figures it out after many awkward moments with stereotypical Southerners and help from his fiance who thankfully was more than just a pretty face.
There were quality performances from Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei (there will always be conjecture about how it won an Academy Award; at least it was the best in the movie) and Ralph Macchio, but a big asset is all the character actors that rounded this out: Lane Smith, Austin Pendleton, Bruce McGill, Fred Gwynne as possibly the World's Tallest Judge, Maury Chaykin, James Rebhorn... those are the building blocks that helped set the foundation. Gwynne not only was memorable as the droll judge, it was a nice close to his career as this was his final feature film before passing away the following year due to cancer.
Key is not only was that by movie standards it was actually a relatively accurate look at the judicial process, but that it was consistently amusing & was not just about the culture clash. Finding the two college boys easy to root for also help in my enjoyment. Thank goodness this wasn't a letdown that ruined the good memories I had of it. As someone who lives in Florida but a few times actually drove to Kansas and back in the preceding decade: rural Alabama still looks like that. Technically, this movie was filmed in rural Georgia but those two look exactly alike. Quaint towns that may have some rundown areas, highways that go through woods, horse manure on sale, tiny bodegas that look ramshackle, logging trucks: all those sights I've experienced on those LONG drives.
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