Imagine if you will traveling across the country with your best friend and stopping for snacks at a small town gas station.  Shortly after you leave you, glance in the mirror to see and hear the flashing lights and the siren of a police car.  You are about to be charged with the cold blooded murder and robbery of the proprietor of the gas station you just left.   Your only hope for freedom is your eccentric cousin Vinny, a New York lawyer who has yet to win a case. 

  This is the set up for a court room comedy starring Joe Pesci as lawyer Vinny Gambini, Marisa Tomei as his fiancé and assistant Mona Lisa Vito, and Fred Gwynne in his last film role as the Judge presiding over the case.

The focus of the movie is not on the two friends but on their Lawyer, his girlfriend and their interactions with an antagonistic “buy the book” small town judge and a prosecutor who believes he has an open and shut case against the boys.   Vinny is clearly out of his element but he is determined to “win this case” no matter what it takes and it is going to take all of his skills. His Fiancé Mona is a sexy tomboy who clearly loves him but is losing patience with the time between Vinny’s proposal and their actual marriage.   As the movie continues it is obvious that almost every clue and eye witness confirms the boys’ guilt and while you as the movie watcher know the boys did not commit the crime there appears to be no evidence that they didn’t. Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Mona and I think it was well deserved.