My Cousin Vinny

PLOT

Driving through Alabama, Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein, college students from New York, shop at a convenience store. After they leave, the store clerk is robbed and killed. Due to circumstantial evidence, Bill is charged with first-degree murder and Stan as an accessory; Bill and Stan assumed they were being busted after Bill accidentally forgot to pay for a can of tuna. Bill and Stan use Bill's cousin, Vinny Gambini, a personal injury lawyer from Brooklyn, because they can't afford a private lawyer, and he'll represent them for free. Vinny is newly admitted to the bar and has no trial experience. He arrives in Alabama with his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito, who comes from a family of mechanics.

Vinny fools the trial judge, Chamberlain Haller, that he is experienced enough for the case. However, Haller repeatedly holds him in contempt for his abrasive attitude and ignorance of courtroom decorum. To the alarm of Bill and Stan, Vinny does not cross-examine any of the witnesses in the preliminary hearing. Though he lacks the murder weapon, the district attorney, Jim Trotter III, has a strong case. After Vinny's poor showing at the hearing, Stan fires him and uses the public defender, John Gibbons. However, Gibbons's nerves and severe stutter assist the prosecution's case.

Vinny makes up for his inexperience with an aggressive and perceptive questioning style. When he cross-examines the first witness, he uses his knowledge of the cooking time of grits to force him to admit that his perception of time was inaccurate, meaning he cannot corroborate the prosecution's timeline. Stan fires the public defender and rehires Vinny, who discredits the next two witnesses by questioning their ability to make a positive identification due to obstructions in their sightline and impaired vision.

Trotter produces a surprise witness, the FBI analyst George Wilbur. Vinny objects, as Trotter failed to inform him ahead of time, but Haller spitefully overrules the objection. Wilbur testifies that the pattern and chemical analysis of the tire marks left at the crime scene are identical to the tires on Bill's car. In cross-examination, Wilbur admits the tires on Bill's car are the most popular in America.

Haller orders a lunch recess after Wilbur's testimony. Vinny asks for a full day's continuance to properly prepare for cross-examination, but Haller refuses. While struggling to prepare, Vinny lashes out at Lisa, but realizes that one of her photos holds the key to the case: the flat and even tire marks over the curb reveal that Bill's car could not have been used for the getaway.

After asking the local sheriff for a favor, Vinny drags an angry Lisa into court to testify as an expert witness on cars. Lisa testifies that only a car with an independent rear suspension and Positraction could have made the tire marks, which rules out Bill's 1964 Buick Skylark. One model of car with these features is the similar-looking 1963 Pontiac Tempest. Because both Buick and Pontiac are owned by GM, the Pontiac Tempest was also available in the same metallic mint green finish as Bill's car. Vinny recalls Wilbur, who confirms this information, discrediting his own testimony. Vinny then recalls the sheriff, who testifies that two men who fit Bill and Stan's descriptions have been arrested in Georgia for driving a stolen metallic mint green Pontiac Tempest, and were in possession of a gun of the same caliber used in the murder. Trotter dismisses all charges. The judge congratulates Vinny and, as they drive away, Vinny and Lisa bicker about their wedding plans.

CAST

Joe Pesci as Vinny Gambini

Ralph Macchio as Bill Gambini

Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito

Mitchell Whitfield as Stan Rothenstein

Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain Haller

Lane Smith as Jim Trotter III

Austin Pendleton as John Gibbons

Bruce McGill as Sheriff Dean Farley

Maury Chaykin as Sam Tipton

Paulene Myers as Constance Riley

Raynor Scheine as Ernie Crane

James Rebhorn as George Wilbur

Chris Ellis as J.T.

Michael Simpson as Neckbrace

Lou Walker as Grits Cook

Kenny Jones as Jimmy Willis