1992 film directed by Jonathan Lynn
My Cousin Vinny is a 1992 American legal comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Dale Launer. It stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield and Fred Gwynne in his final film appearance before his death in 1993. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and released in the United States on March 13, 1992.
Macchio and Whitfield respectively play Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein, two New York teenagers who are arrested in Alabama and put on trial for a murder of which they are wrongfully accused. Unable to afford a lawyer, they are defended by Gambini's cousin Vinny Gambini (Pesci), newly admitted to the bar, who arrives with his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito (Tomei). The clash between the brash Italian-American New Yorkers and the more reserved Southern townspeople provides much of the film's humor. The principal location of filming was Monticello, Georgia.
My Cousin Vinny was a critical and commercial success, with Pesci, Gwynne, Macchio and Tomei praised for their performances. Tomei won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Attorneys have also lauded the film for its accurate depiction of criminal procedure, the rules of evidence, and trial strategy.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.