Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
Two young men from New York are arrested in rural Alabama and put on trial for murder. They can't afford legal representation, but young Gambini (Ralph Macchio) has a cousin who just passed the bar...
Charming, classic fish-out-of-water comedy which works, in part, because of how straight it's played. There's no sense that Southern hicks are railroading the boys through a kangaroo court; Vinny (Joe Pesci) is the one who does not not belong in Judge Haller's well-run courtroom. The series of calamities that befall Vinny and fiancee Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei) make it seem, for the film's first half, that he is a comedy character dropped into a legal drama.
There are nice character arcs for Vinny and Mona Lisa and some memorable courtroom scenes. Great movie.