The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Strange Staying Power of "My Cousin Vinny"

Illustration by Michael DiMilo

By Geoff Carter

Some movies are unexpectedly, inexplicably, and unbelievably popular. It’s obvious how classics like White Christmas, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Wizard of Oz have become beloved holiday traditions, but who would have predicted that The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Eraserhead, Pink Flamingoes, or Napolean Dynamite would become cult classics? Or that horror classics like Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Gremlins would garner unqualified devotion from movie fans?

Of course, there are the cinematic masterpieces like Rear Window, Psycho—the entire Hitchcock oeuvre for that matter—To Kill a Mockingbird, Saving Private Ryan, or The Godfather saga that are popular precisely because they are so good. Viewers never seem to tire of them. I know that whenever they show up on my Samsung, I drop everything and watch them. I almost have to. The unparalleled artistry in acting, mastery of direction and editing, and brilliant storytelling bear repeated viewings. You see something new every time.

Sometimes a film like Tommy Wiseu’s The Room or Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space is so bad, it’s good—or just funny. A new tradition on college campuses is movie sing-alongs. Students will sing along enthusiastically to The Sound of Music or any number of Disney classics—just as they do at Rocky Horror screenings, because—as we all know—audience participation is fun. Yet some films that are not bad or campy or gimmicky have incredible—and sometimes inexplicable—staying power.

A case in point is My Cousin Vinny, a 1992 courtroom comedy that follows Vincent Gambino (Joe Pesci) shrewd and street-smart New Yorker who is an inexperienced and somewhat inept lawyer. He travels down to Alabama to defend his cousin Billy (Ralph Macchio) and his buddy Stan (Mitchell Whitfield) who are accused of murder. Vinny is accompanied by his fiancé Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei), who is just as assertive and street-smart as Vinny.

Vinny is a typical fish-out-of-water story, an engaging courtroom drama, a hilarious comedy, and an offbeat love story—but so are a lot of other movies. Yet it’s impossible to get away from My Cousin Vinny. It’s shown continually on a variety of cable stations, available on streaming stations, and has brought in record DVD (and VHS) sales. What does Vinny have that movies like Legally Blonde, Jury Duty, or Liar, Liar (all courtroom comedies) don’t?

Part of it is obviously the chemistry between Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci. Both are gifted comedic actors, but the rapport (and tension) between them is believable, hilarious, and charming. Tomei is constantly deflating Vinny’s ego and keeping him in line while simultaneously being loving and supportive. While they may seem contradictory, Ms. Tomei blends these qualities into a seamless portrayal of a sweet, assertive, and charming young woman. Pesci plays Vinny as a shrewd, determined, and unapologetically Italian-American New Yorker. His deadpan comedic responses to—as well as the cultural dissonance—between him and Judge Chambers (Fred Gwynne), a southern gentleman, is beautifully rendered.

Some aspects of My Cousin Vinny, including the depiction of Southern culture and public defender John Gibbons’ (Austin Pendleton) stutter are dated and might be considered somewhat offensive today, but these shortcomings haven’t seemed to dim the film’s luster in the streaming and cable market. As I said, it is everywhere. Even Kamala Harris, former California attorney general, Vice-president, and presidential candidate, has cited My Cousin Vinny as her favorite movie.

So why does this film have such widespread and seemingly unlimited appeal? Thirty-three years after its release, it is still as popular as ever. Fans still quote its lines like, “I got no more use for this guy”, “My biological clock is ticking”, and “What is a yute?” and the scene where Vinny puts Mona Lisa on the stand is classic. Their antagonistic magnetism is simply brilliant.

Interestingly, legal scholars have maintained the courtroom scenes in Vinny are much more realistic than other movie courtroom dramas like A Few Good Men. Vinny’s scathing cross-examinations and rebuttal of the prosecutor’s technical evidence are true to the reality of trials. In his essay, “Every Young Lawyer Needs to Watch My Cousin Vinny”, Maxwell S. Kennerly states, “part of why the film has such staying power among lawyers is because, unlike, say, A Few Good Men, everything that happens in the movie could happen — and often does happen — at trial.” In his article, Kennerly cites Professor Alberto Bernabe, who states, “Vinny is terrible at the things we do teach in law school, but very good at the things we don’t.”

Ironically, Vinny’s inherent skill as a trial lawyer (along with his lack of legal knowledge) could be precisely what makes him such a popular character. Part of the American dream—or myth—is that our country is a place where anyone can do anything, where the humblest among us can rise to greatness. Vinny doesn’t know the law very well, but his personality and shrewdness make him a great litigator. He is a paragon—and a rare example—of someone succeeding with only their own panache, street-smarts, and chutzpa. While rags-to-riches stories are possible in the movies, unfortunately they don’t happen very often in real life.

The same is true of Lisa. When Vinny gets her on the stand and she reveals her unexpected skill as an automotive expert (expertise which wins him the case), she becomes more than what she appeared to be—an out-of-work hairdresser. Drawing on her inner talents and her own spunkiness, she becomes a complete and perfect match for Vinny.

My Cousin Vinny is a farce, but like all great farces, it is firmly grounded in reality—in this case legal reality. It pokes fun at southern culture, Italian American culture, prison, and the legal system, and it is a great film. It is—to some—surprisingly enduring because its resonance is based on its solid foundation in American individualism and the realities of our legal system.

But whatever the reason for its vast and undying appeal—and I can only speculate as to the reasons for that—it is a great, great movie. If you haven’t seen it (really?), crawl out from under that rock and turn on your television. It’s in there somewhere.