Review of My Cousin Vinny (1992) by Ahmedaiman9999 — 26 Aug 2018

“Ridiculous! All this over a can of tuna!”.

This movie is HILARIOUS! I haven't laughed this hard in a while. In the surface, My Cousin Vinny seems to be a small easy-going comedy movie with a fish-out-of-water/mistaken identity story, and“Ridiculous! All this over a can of tuna!”.

This movie is HILARIOUS! I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

In the surface, My Cousin Vinny seems to be a small easy-going comedy movie with a fish-out-of-water/mistaken identity story, and that's exactly how should you see it to enjoy it, but that doesn't mean it's just that kind of a movie. This movie doesn't just have some smart jokes, and funny characters, but it's a clever, and kinda profound movie at its core. The way the sub-plots are connected to the character arc of Vinny, and how they reflect his development, and express his feelings, reminded me of the Coen Bros. quite a bit, but, of course, in a much lighter way. The funny misfortunes of Vinny are purely Coen-esque! And of course that means that the movie has a moral, and it's really an impressive, and sorta useful, one. It's a message about changing for better; a message about the indifference and how it's unprofitable, and even harmful.

As I mentioned that it's better to watch the movie as a comedy and nothing else, I did that and I think My Cousin Vinny almost excels on so many levels as a comedy. From the clever jokes, to the comical slap-stick direction style, to the both oddball and reasonable characters, I found myself enjoying every moment in the movie, and laugh constantly throughout its runtime.

Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei's chemistry is just unparalleled! Needless to say that they delivered some of their best performances in their rich career bringing their already well-composed and well-designed characters to life. Especially Mona Lisa Vito, played by Marisa Tomei that I found she really has some depth that can rarely be found in comedy movies. She's a round character; stubborn, kinda sassy, yet smart and sensitive... and she's cute, too!

Mitchell Whitfield and Ralph Macchio, who played the two young New Yorkers, are also very good; they have a good chemistry as well, and their reactions to the misunderstanding at the beginning are hysterically funny.

The third act that take place in the courtroom is more serious, but that definitely doesn't mean it doesn't contain jokes or lack of humor. In addition to that, it has prepared for it very well. What surprised me is that I found the third act could be the most intriguing part of the movie. Due to the smartness of the script, the dialogue is pretty sharp, the denouement is surprisingly convincing, and the jokes this time is more clever because they rely on the writing and the acting, not the direction. I mean in a large part, obviously.

The dramatic moments at the let-downs, however, seem very forced, and didn't work for me at all. They really could have been balanced with the comical tone of the movie way better than that. The plot could seem a bit familiar, but the content, and many details feel so fresh you almost can't notice this familiarity except when the credits roll.

I want to praise Jonathan Lynn's classic visual style of comedy, but it's better to be seen to be appreciated. Please do yourself a favor, and watch this hidden, underappreciated gem.