“My Cousin Vinny” on the Royale with Cheese Movie Club

For those who are new to my blog, the “Royale With Cheese Movie Club” features films that everybody in the world has seen – but I’m finally getting around to watching them. The blog feature is so named because it took me decades to get around to watching Pulp Fiction. Among other films.

Last night, before I went to bed, I said to myself, “Self, you haven’t watched a Royale with Cheese Movie Club film in a while. You’ve got ten dozen streaming services on your television, find a movie and watch it.”

And so I did. And I have to admit – I got a kick out of it.

My Cousin Vinny was a 1992 comedy film about a Brooklyn personal injury lawyer who ends up representing two boys (one his cousin) in an Alabama murder case. He’s never worked a murder trial before, but he knows the importance of family. And so, along with his sharp-tounged photo-shooting fiancee, he takes on the most stereotypical backwater courtroom ever conceived in a motion picture – and somehow wins.

And by “wins,” I mean he actually does things that lawyers don’t normally do in courtroom films.

He pokes holes – gaping holes – in all the witness testimony (I previously never thought about the time it took to make grits before), and uses all his wits and guile – including his fiancee’s knowledge of the rear wheel axle of vintage GM cars – to prove that his clients were railroaded and squeezed into a confession.

And this film is both funny and smart. And pay attention to Marisa Tomei’s character of Mona Lisa Vito, the fiancee. Her ditzy, sharp-tongued appearance belies a hidden brain that picks up on tiny details that others might miss. Plus – for camera nerds – that’s a pink Kodak Disc camera she’s rocking throughout the movie. Just had to say that.

And Fred Gwynne as the southern redneck judge, who plays equal parts a Southern gentleman and exasperated jurist – funny as hell. And yes, that’s more than just the phrase about the two youts there.

Yeah, I’m kind of sorry I missed this film when it came out. And yeah, I should have watched it at some point in time before last night.

But hey … I finally got around to seeing it.

One more Royale with Cheese Movie Club film ticked off the list. 😀