Stars: Joe Pesci, Fred Gwynne, Marisa Tomei, Lane Smith, Austin Pendleton, Mitchell Whitfield

Director: Jonathan Lynn

Summary: Two college students charged with murder in a small American town call upon their cousin Vinny in a desperate attempt to clear their names. Unfortunately cousin Vinny has only just qualified as a lawyer... on his sixth attempt..!

Two carefree pals traveling through Alabama are mistakenly arrested and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer. When Vinny arrives in Alabama with his leather-clad girlfriend, it's a real shock for all of them! Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress--Marisa Tomei.

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1992's My Cousin Vinnyis a delightful comedy-cum-courtroom drama set in Alabama. Joe Pesci stars as Vinny, the garage mechanic recently turned lawyer, who finds himself straight in at the deep end when his young cousin is unjustly arrested, along with his buddy, for the murder of a store clerk. From the opening scenes in which the hapless arrestees labour under the impression they've been booked for stealing a can of tuna, My Cousin Vinny's comedic pace never slackens, even as the drama builds. Much of the fun derives from raw, Brooklyn native Vinny's coping with the cultural backwaters of the Deep South, from its lardy grits to the 5.30 am "alarm call" of the factory horn. There's a good running gag involving retrieving $200 from a recalcitrant local redneck, while his clashes with the court judge, played by the late Fred Gwynne are priceless. Pesci goads this stickler for procedures by mumbling expletives in court, turning up in a leather jacket, then a mauve frock coat and arousing the judge's suspicions as to his bona fides. However, it's Marisa Tomei who surprisingly, but justly, took an Academy Award for her performance as tomboyish Lisa, Vinny's girlfriend. Tart rather than tarty, she more than matches Pesci for Noo Yoiksass and mechanical knowledge, delivering a court lecture on limited slip differential and independent rear suspension that oozes improbable sexiness.

On the DVD:a decent presentation in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, though it's only Tomei's bizarrely eye-catching costumes which especially merit DVD enhancement. There's also a commentary by director (and co-creator of Yes Minister) Jonathan Lynn, in which--though at times seeming to struggle for interesting things to say--he reminisces on the fear in shooting the film's prison scenes adjacent to Death Row in a maximum security prison. --David Stubbs

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary By Johnathan Lynn, 2 Theatrical Trailers, Scene Access, Interactive
Subtitles:	Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish
Year:	1992
Release Date:	March 4, 2002
Runtime:	114 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	01876 D V D
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Wide, Screen, Cousin, My, Vinny
Genre:	Comedy