My Cousin Vinny-The Mainstream Studio Comedy You Don’t See Often
My Cousin Vinny is the mainstream Hollywood comedy you don't see often. It's a comedy that's as much character-focused as it is gag-focused. The film offers a solid script that provides genuinely compelling character drama as much as it provides moment after moment of hilarious gags and one-liners. The film brilliantly uses an absurd comedic premise to create solid emotional stakes. You get the sense that Vinny is aware that Bill and Stan's lives are in their hands and that he's genuinely concerned for their well-being. The film takes a much more empathetic view of Vinny as a character, never exaggerating his dumbness for the sake of comedy, but instead, showing him as an inept man who is aware he's in over his head and becomes overwhelmed in his attempts to improve; which makes the film just as compelling dramatically as it is comedically.
My Cousin Vinny is also the rare genre comedy that relishes the genre it's tackling. The film handles its courtroom scenes with incredible attention to detail. It plays many moments for laughs, but the film is meticulous in how it tackles each part of the trial, from the opening arguments to the cross-examinations, leading to some genuinely solid reveals that feel more in line with a courtroom drama than a comedy.
It helps that the film features actors who are on top of their game, both dramatically and comedically. Joe Pesci, as Vinny, feels like a genuine person over his head, but when the film plays up his ineptitude for comedic purposes, he does it perfectly. Ralph Maccio and Mitchell Whitfield, as Bill and Stan, take a similar approach, playing up their awkward, foolish natures for comedy, but in a way that feels natural. Marisa Tomei, as Mona, gives not only the best performance of the film but one of the best comedic performances I've seen in a studio comedy. Out of all the performances in the film, Tomeii takes the over-the-top Brooklyn stereotype of her character and makes it seem so natural that it makes her mesmerizing to watch each time she's onscreen.
The film is also a studio comedy featuring a director who knows what to do with a camera. Unlike many studio comedies released today, which feature a bland-shot-reverse-shot filmmaking style, Jonathan Lynn does some creative things with the camera throughout My Cousin Vinny. Using different zooms and pans and eschewed camera angles, such as Dutch Tilts, The camera amplifies the variety of the film's gags. In the courtroom scenes, the camera pans and glides throughout the courtroom, following characters, giving evidence and information in impressive long tracking shots, which amplifies the film's moments of genuine courtroom drama.
The film's second half, set in the trial, is where it truly gets going. The first half is by no means bad, as it features scene after scene of hilarious visual and verbal gags and some solid dramatic moments, as I mentioned. However, the trial sequences are simply so electric to watch that the first half slightly lags in comparison.
Simply put, My Cousin Vinny is one of the best showcases of the classic Hollywood comedy system. With a witty and well-written script, solid performances, and a director who knows what to do with the camera while showcasing his clear love for courtroom dramas, everything comes together to make an extremely entertaining comedy. Simply put, Hollywood doesn't make comedy films like this anymore.
Now Streaming on Disney+ and Hulu in the U.S
