Review of My Cousin Vinny (1992) by Jared R — 12 Mar 2013

Marisa Tomei won the Supporting Actress Oscar for this shallow but mildly enjoybale fish-out-of-water comedy, playing Joe Pesci's street smart girlfriend. Weighed down by a dull setup featuring Ralph 'Karate Kid' Macchio, the movie gets a much-needed charge from Pesci, a bundle of bandy-legged impudence as Macchio's lawyer cousin, Vincent Gambini. 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 her longtime fiance, 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 is terrible." "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.

VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent. (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars).