My Cousin Vinny is a
1992 comedy film written by
Dale Launer, and directed by
Jonathan Lynn, starring
Joe Pesci,
Ralph Macchio and
Marisa Tomei, and featuring
Fred Gwynne in his final role. The film deals with two young New Yorkers traveling through rural
Alabama who are put on trial for a murder they did not commit, and the comedic attempts of a cousin, Vincent Gambini, a newly minted lawyer, to defend them.
Much of the humor comes from the contrasting personalities of the
Italian American Vinny and his fiancee Mona Lisa, and the more somber Southern townspeople. Pesci and Tomei received vast critical praise for their performances, and Tomei won an
Oscar for
Best Supporting Actress.