MY COUSIN VINNY

The Critics' Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads as follows: "The deft comic interplay between Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei helps to elevate My Cousin Vinny's predictable script, and the result is a sharp, hilarious courtroom comedy."

Not a bad summary, although (and this may say more about me than about the film) I found it amusing rather than hilarious.  

I found a lot of the humour rather too predictable.  

Vinny, a New York personal injury lawyer who is newly qualified after multiple failed attempts and who has no trial experience, is in Alabama to defend his cousin Bill (and Bill's friend Stan) in a murder trial.   

Cue the expected laughs as Vinny tries to get up to speed with the whole business of disclosure, pleas, cross-examination etc (has he never watched any John Grisham adaptations?) whilst also getting to grips with Southern culture (grits anyone?). 

I could have done without making fun of the stammering public defender.

But indeed Pesci and Tomei (as Vinny's long-suffering girlfriend / fiancée) are great together, especially in a bedroom scene where they are arguing about a broken faucet tap. 

We just know that she will end up saving the day for Vinny but it's fun to see it all play out in the climactic courtroom scenes.

As a bonus, the judge is nicely played by a certain Fred Gwynne, better known as Herman Munster.

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do