My Cousin Vinny
My
Cousin Vinny is the first movie I watched from 1992 for this assignment. My
first reaction and initial thoughts were getting used to the clothing. This
might seem like a minor part of a film but it took me a while to get used to
the early 90’s fashions, simply because they were so different from what is “in
style” today.
I
personally did not like this film very much. I know many people and critics
view My Cousin Vinny as an entertaining film from the early 90’s but I have
more of a dry, sarcastic sense of humor and enjoy clever jokes and the
situational comedy of My Cousin Vinny was not particularly entertaining to me
and extremely predictable which became boring after a while.
The
entire movie is based off of one miscommunication after another. While
miscommunication in comedy is funny I felt it was beyond repetitive in My
Cousin Vinny. The whole plot was based around two boys being charged with
murder through simple miscommunications. The situational comedy became overkill
for me when the majority of jokes or funny moments had the exact same set up.
The lawyer (Vinny) attempted to explain the miscommunication the judge to avoid
the whole trial but it led to more miscommunication and the full trial. Certain
repetitive scenes also became boring after a few times. Each morning they were
woken up by some strange noise or disturbance near where they had slept the
night before. It was just very predictable, even after moving to a new hotel
each night, it was obvious they would be woken up.
The
film did have a few parts I enjoyed. First, I did like Vinny’s character trait
of fast talking his way out of certain situations and the clever, persuasive
side to him. Even if he did not always realize how clever he was being. I
thought the character dynamics between Vinny and his girlfriend were good,
highlighting why the worked as a couple even though they both had strong,
stubborn personalities. His girlfriend ultimately saved the day for the two
boys in jail by being able to properly explain such intense detail about cars
and tire tracks that it proved the two boys were innocent and their car was not
the one that peeled out of the gas station. This was an interesting plot twist,
I was expecting Vinny, who had struggled being a lawyer to have a major
epiphany and break through the case and prove it on his own. But I liked his
breakthrough and his girlfriend’s car knowledge was teamed to prove the boys’
innocence.
The
filming followed certain rules such as rule of thirds that was obvious through
out the movie. Scenery shots added to the film showing rural areas and small
town life in Alabama. A key element in this film was the reaction shot. With
the situational comedy running throughout the movie, the shot of their initial
reaction to any confusion taking place was essential for the comedy of the film
to work.
Overall,
My Cousin Vinny would not have been a top pick for film I love but it does have
a few funny moments and a plot with a few twists to keep the audience
entertained.
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