A very late review of My Cousin Vinnie
Things I liked
The story is not ambitious. It tells a small story that takes place in a small area and doesn't try to step past that. There's no bait for a sequel because this story is over, and the characters are presumed to return to their lives afterwards.
Very strong use of chekov's gun, if Chekov's Gun is Mona Lisa Vito who is good at everything when nobody else is good at things. I appreciate how small scenes like Vinnie being disgusted by grits comes back in a very real way later on in the movie, as well as Mona Lisa Vito learning about what mud does to car tires.
They have really strong establishing shots of the town that really make the location seem more credible. The opening where they're driving by crappy rest stops and a house made of hubcaps absolutely sold where it is, and the movie did a great job of maintaining the location in future shots.
The recurring gag of a new loud sound keeping Vinnie up at night was fun, and I appreciate how creative they were with precisely why it happened, though I think that one hotel that shakes so bad that the cups fall off the bedstand would likely have installed a lip on the bedstand to stop that from happening every night.
Things I didn't like
Mona Lisa's anger towards Vinnie starts at a random time and ends too suddenly afterward. Wasn't she mad he went deer hunting?
The prosecutor goes from resigned to failure to happy and congratulatory way too fast after the case ends. Wasn't he so competitive he used his better standing with the judge to work around proper court proceeding and call a witness Vinnie had no time to prepare for?
Something about Joe Pesci's mouth man... I don't know. It's not his fault but it looks like he's taking a sip out of a straw every time he talks.
?
I love and hate the casting.
Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci do their roles very well, but their appearances don't fit the characters at all. Joe Pesci is meant to be this intimidating, scrappy fellow, and I don't see it with his general... size being contrasted with everyone else, and Marisa Tomei was meant to be middle aged, having been denied marriage for a decade, and she looks like she's fresh out of college. Like... the acting they did was flawless, but they don't look like how I'd imagine the characters looking at all. Honestly the main cast of Rocky seems closer to what I'd expect than these two.