Review of My Cousin Vinny

Introduction

Joe Pesci has pretty much made a name for himself as the quintessential gangster, so it`s refreshing to see him play other roles too. Here he plays the title character along with the lovely Marisa Tomei as his long standing fiancee. Pesci is the lawyer in the family and he`s put to the test when he`s called upon to help out his cousin (Ralph Macchio) who`s in jail charged with murder. He`s a working class lawyer from Brooklyn trying his first court case and what follows is a charming and funny story of a fish out of water.

Video

This DVD is presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and seems to be a bit of a mixed bag. There are some scenes which are rendered very well with detail, colours and good contrast coming through and then there are some scenes which look a little washed out and may appear soft. Oh wait, maybe this was down to the few locations where there are loads of browns and greens!! There isn`t much else wrong with the transfer with a few flecks here and there, this isn`t anything to get concerned about though and remains very watchable.

Audio

Nothing fancy in the sound stakes since all we have is the original 2 channel Dolby Surround track. Dialogue is well realised from the centre channel with music coming through the front speakers. There`s little if anything coming from the rears but this is fine since this isn`t a loud sound/effects kind of movie. What`s here works well and always sounds crystal clear.

Features

My Cousin Vinny has nice 3D animated menus which seem a little out of place, but work well nonetheless. Featurewise we get a couple of TV Spots, two trailers and Director Commentary. The TV spots are TV trailers and together with the movie trailers themselves aren`t too bad. Watching them will unveil some nice surprises though so it`s best left well alone. None of these trailers are anamorphically enhanced.

Director Commentary with Jonathan Lynn is pretty interesting. Even after all this time he still has stuff to say all the way through the film and doesn`t bore in the slightest. He talks about some of the takes for scenes and I wished these were included, just for comedic value. There must be loads of outtakes and bits and pieces which could have been included here.

Conclusion

My Cousin Vinny is a very funny film with good script and characters. The cast performance is great and goes full tilt from start to finish. Pesci, Tomei (she won a well deserved Oscar), Fred Gwynne and the Karate Kid (Ralph Macchio) work well in the film too. In fact, Marisa Tomei really does steal the show with so many highpoints as Mona Lisa Vito, she lights up the screen with charisma while playing so well off Joe Pesci that you`re left in no doubts that this is perfect casting. They`re a pure joy to watch. It`s also good to see Pesci get away from the violent roles he sometimes portrays and even though he comes across as arrogant and argumentative here, he`s still very likeable. While shooting this movie, he won an Oscar for his performance in Goodfellas.

There`s a lot of `colourful` language from Pesci and Tomei too and it seems to be just the two of them that use it. While it sometimes seems unreal, it fits in nicely with Pesci and Tomei`s characters and we accept it without any problems at all. Do typical New Yorkers talk and curse like this, or do you have to come from Brooklyn? ;-)

Jonathan Lynn directs Dale Launer`s script with ease and there`s never a dull moment here with a good sense of rhythm to the story. A mixture of handheld and dolly shots adds interest and stops boredom setting in, especially when we`re watching courtroom scenes.

It would be nice if Fox would release a PAL version sometime in the not too distant future with a few extras. My Cousin Vinny, a comedy of errors and misunderstandings is a wonderfully fun film with truly mesmerising performances. It`s easy to watch, makes one smile and laugh and also makes for repeated viewings. As it stands, this region 1 version is the best version of the film to go for as it doesn`t seem to be available in other regions. It`s well worth seeing!