By TeeJay Small
| Published
Sometimes it feels like Hollywood just can’t churn out a super quotable laugh-out-loud movie like they used to. Before social media memes took control of the comedy zeitgeist, people used to watch a movie one time with their pals before quoting it forever and ever, solidifying their bond as best friends for life. For my money, the most quotable movie of all time has to be the 1992 courtroom comedy My Cousin Vinny, starring Joe Pesci and a smokin’ hot Marisa Tomei.
The Best Fish Out Of Water Story
In case you tragically missed out on this classic film, My Cousin Vinny opens with a pair of New York college kids (Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield), who travel down south for a road trip. Early on in their trip, the duo are pulled over and wrongly accused of robbing and murdering a clerk at a local general store. While they are held in jail, Macchio’s Bill Gambini calls upon his cousin, Vinny, to represent him in court. Vinny, as expertly portrayed by Joe Pesci, is a brash, flamboyant, and obnoxious New York Italian, who has just passed the bar after failing numerous times.
The very moment that Vinny arrives in Alabama, he’s mired with nonstop problems. His loud personality conflicts with the more reserved townspeople, his vibrant attire lands him in contempt of court, and his lack of trial experience causes him to make tons of mistakes during the discovery process. The whole time, he’s got an idiot looking to fight him over $200, a judge that wants to throw him in jail, slaughtered pigs, giant loud whistles, and his fiancé’s biological clock is tick, tick, ticking like a high heel boot slamming against a wooden deck.
Joe Pesci’s chemistry with Marisa Tomei is off the charts, and his back-and-forth bickering with the judge (played by Fred Gwynne in his final role) is the source of at least 50 hilarious lines of dialogue that will perk the ears of any film fan when repeated in public. Ralph Macchio is a little bit underused, but it’s well worth it to spend an extra five minutes focusing on Pesci and Gwynne sounding out the proper pronunciation of the word “youths.”
Maybe it’s because I come from a long, unbroken line of northeastern Italian dirtbags, but My Cousin Vinny quotes are as fundamental to my daily life as pool sharking and a tray of baked ziti.
A Bona Fide Comedy Classic
Of course, I’m not alone in my love of this film. My Cousin Vinny is an undeniable classic, which found quick success with both critics and audiences upon its release. The film made over $64 million worldwide on a measly budget of just $11 million, and currently maintains a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 85 percent. Marisa Tomei even won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, which is a well-deserved accolade, considering she drops several hilarious long-winded monologues over the course of the film.
If you’ve never seen My Cousin Vinny before, there’s truly no better time than the present to rectify that. Conversely, if you’re a super-fan of the film long overdue for a rewatch, you can find it streaming on Hulu today. Just be sure to warn your friends before you dive in, because you might walk away from this one with half a dozen new vocal stims, and an unyielding desire to don a leather jacket and a gold chain.
