Originally written 1/2/2016
My Cousin Vinny is half courtroom movie,
half cruddy fish-out-of-water comedy. It could have (and should have) been cut
down to an April Fool's Day comedic episode of Law & Order. Anything other than the courtroom scenes is
painful to sit through. That horrible "comedic" misunderstanding
trope I hate is back again from Enemy of
the State. The movie could not have progressed if it were not for the dumb
misunderstanding. If only Ralph Macchio could have elaborated his situation to
the police, we might have been spared from this movie. There's also a strange
overuse of Dutch angles in the first act of the film, but only in the first
act. I cannot fathom why the director decided to do this.
The
rest of the movie's jokes are variations on "Haw-haw, Joe Pesci is a
stereotypical Yankee in a stereotypical southern town". There is a joke in
which a short order cook explains to Joes Pesci at great length how to make
grits. Comedy gold, I tell ya. The courtroom scenes are well done, at least
comparatively to the rest of the film. The pacing and beats are still super
Hollywood and predictable, but the performances save the day. It is a rare
instance where good actors can save an otherwise dull script. Somehow the
combined powers of Joe Pesci, Marissa Tomei, and Herman Munster work together
to create a genuinely funny third act. My
Cousin Vinny is half of a good movie, but the half that works does so
satisfactorily.
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