My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Vincent Gambini	Joe Pesci
Billy Gambini	Ralph Macchio
Mona Lisa Vito	Marisa Tomei	½
Stan Rothenstein	Mitchell Whitfield	½
Judge Chamberlain Haller	Fred Gwynne	½
D. A. Jim Trotter III	Lane Smith	½
John Gibbons	Austin Pendelton
Sheriff Farley	Bruce McGill	½
Sam Tipton	Maury Chaykin
Ernie Crane	Raynor Scheine

Review

A typical early 1990s film with all the drawbacks and advantages that implies. Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne enjoy unconventional rivalry as an unkempt defense attourney and a no-nonsense judge respectively, who meet up in court where the former must defend his cousin (Macchio) who is on trial for a murder he didn't commit. The tone of the film is enjoyable and carefree, never worrying about utilizing stereotypes and archtypes to construct more or less insipid comedic situations - usually about the differences between the south (Alabama) and the perceivably more urban north-east (New York). Pesci and Tomei have some surprisingly erotic scenes together, and the courtroom scenes are amusing if highly predictable. Tomei surprisingly won an Academy Award for her performance.