Pesci in My Cousin Vinny

My Cousin Vinny may not be the world's most auspicious title for a film that seeks to transcend the simplistic implications those three words suggest. Indeed, the casual moviegoer merely expecting Italian-American stereotypes would find that assumption only half accurate.

Joe Pesci is Vinny, an amateur New York lawyer who travels with his fiance to rural South Carolina to defend two alleged murderers. Someone has shot Jimmy Willis, and the local police believe this someone to be Vinny's cousin Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and his college buddy Stan (Mitchell Whitfield). Some local eyewitnesses mistakenly identify them--in classic television sitcom fashion--effectively destroying their thus far innocent road trip to California.

The film begins with a hackneyed plot device straight out of the "There's Company Guide to Humor." Bill realizes only after leaving a convenience store that he has accidentally taken a can of tuna fish. When a policeman apprehends them, they assume it has to do with the Chicken of the Sea. This situation permits Stan witty one-liners like: "I'm being booked for accessory to shoplifting" before he realizes the serious nature of his arrest.

The audience chuckles through a variant of the Jack Tripper Misunderstanding Theme when Vinny first arrives at the jail. Stan assumes this newcomer is just another prison rapist--not an attorney with the power to prevent a trip to the electric chair--and consequently lambastes him. Stan is shocked when Vinny responds to his unappreciative welcome with such comments as: "I mean, it's your ass, not mine," and "I think you should be down on your fucking knees."

The half of the film not dedicated to exploiting the humor of a city-slicker lawyer and his out-of-work-hairdresser lover confronting country bumpkins involves a somewhat sappy coming-of-age theme. This is Vinny's chance to prove himself as an attorney, though this will be quite a challenge since he has heretofore limited his six weeks of practice to personal injury cases. Winning a murder acquittal might be more difficult than proving liability.

Throughout, the Brooklyn brashness of Pesci and his fiance, Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) contrasts with the hokey lifestyle of the local folk. Pesci and Vito are foreigners here, as evidenced by their black clothing, ample gold jewelry, and paucity of Southern charm. But the film's humor and action become engrossing only in its final third, at the trial.

The couple is endearing: both Pesci's ambition and Lisa's cleverness, revealed through her omniscient automotive acumen, are striking and memorable. Nonetheless, the others' performances are far from engaging. They are rarely funny and not convincing.

This is a mediocre film with a powerful ending. Most of it is simply filler that busy time until the rousing final scenes. As Vinny might say: De acting ain't great, and de plot's pretty predictuhble until de end; but, hey, it's a real good time.