My Cousin Vinny

Two carefree pals traveling through rural Alabama on their way back to college are mistakenly arrested and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer - Vincent Gambini, a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who has just passed his bar exam after his sixth try. When he arrives with his leather-clad girlfriend to try his first case, it's a real shock - for him and the Deep South!

A courtroom comedy that critics received with genuine warmth but not without reservations — the predictable structure and Macchio's underuse drew complaints, while Pesci and Tomei's chemistry was almost universally singled out as what makes the film worth watching. The script's willingness to spin its wheels before the final courtroom fireworks divided critics who found the slow burn charming from those who found it slack.