My Cousin Vinny slumps badly as the courtroom scenes drag on; but when Tomei is on screen, even the jury wakes up.

| Jan 4, 2018

Vinny is a winning character and Pesci's performance as the beleaguered litigant is terrific - cranked yet cuddly.

| Mar 13, 2017

With such canny scene-stealers as Gwynne, Smith, Pendleton, McGill and Chaykin filling out the cast, it is very hard for My Cousin Vinny to go wrong, and indeed, for the purpose of pleasant Saturday night entertainment, it does not.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 30, 2014

Marisa Tomei, as Vinny's fiance, imbues the most obligatory reactions with either a startling ferocity or a farcical ambiguity worthy of her character's name: Mona Lisa Vito.

Full Review | Apr 30, 2014

The movie sags as Vinny sets out to demolish the patently shaky case and dubious witnesses for the prosecution. Pesci does his best, but a lawyer's suit on him becomes a straitjacket.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 30, 2014

As Vincent Gambini, a swaggering pint-sized New York lawyer who only recently passed the bar on his sixth try, Pesci modulates his usual psycho-nuttiness and gives it some recognizably human, even melancholy, undertones.

| Apr 30, 2014

Nothing makes a moviegoer feel more isolated than sitting stony-faced through a comedy that makes the rest of the audience laugh and cheer.

| Apr 30, 2014

The pacing is brisk and the energy of the performances is so palpable that even at its silliest and most contrived, the film is enjoyable.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 30, 2014

My Cousin Vinny is a hoot.

| Apr 30, 2014

My Cousin Vinny is the definition of obvious, and it's way too long (do films like this really need an hour's worth of setup?). But Pesci and Tomei make a first-rate team.

| Original Score: C+ | Sep 7, 2011

Tomei, sashaying through the proceedings as kind of a sexy hood ornament, creates a buoyant chemistry with her combative b.f.

| May 27, 2008

While it's easy to imagine an infinite number of bad courtroom comedies based on this scenario, this movie turns out to be wonderful -- broad and low character comedy that's solidly imagined and beautifully played.

| May 27, 2008

It's a small, surprisingly gentle affair, prone to fits and starts, but fun.

| Jun 24, 2006

Easily the most inventive and enjoyable American film farce in a long time, even during those extended patches when it seems to be marking time or when it continues with a running gag that can't stay the distance.

| May 20, 2003

You might not remember much about My Cousin Vinny an hour later, but the cast makes the jokes (even the bad ones) go down easy.

Full Review | May 12, 2001

Joe Pesci is a total screen pleasure. He grabs whatever comes his way -- from GoodFellas to Home Alone

| Jan 1, 2000

Weighed down by a dull setup featuring Ralph 'Karate Kid' Macchio, the movie gets a much-needed charge from Pesci, a bundle of bandy-legged impudence as Macchio's lawyer cousin, Vincent Gambini.

| Jan 1, 2000

There's a lot of wasted effort here trying to distract us from what we know good and well is going to happen. Nevertheless, it's time pleasantly spent.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 1, 2000

It's the kind of movie home video was invented for: Not worth the trip to the theater, but slam it into the VCR and you get your rental's worth.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 1, 2000