Great Movies Scenes #22
MOVIE: My Cousin Vinny (1992)
SCENE: “Expert Witness”
ACTORS: Marisa Tomei, Joe Pesci, Lane Smith, Fred Gwynne
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Lynn
WRITER: Dale Launer
“Fish out of water” stories are reliable movie plot staples, largely due to the de rigeur tension and conflict that they produce. They’re also interesting, because they can work in a dramatic or comedic setting. The latter is the case in “My Cousin Vinny”. A newly-minted Brooklyn defense attorney, VINNY GAMBINI (Pesci) , has to travel down to a small town in Alabama, to represent his cousin in a murder case. He is accompanied by his fiance, MONA LISA VITO (Tomei), who notwithstanding her stylish, street-wise, dress and demeanor is actually an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable auto mechanic.
At a crucial juncture in the trial, VINNY needs MONA LISA to provide rebuttal testimony, as an “Expert Witness” on the subject of general automobile knowledge. Due to the fact that they have just recently gotten into a nasty verbal spat, she refuses to help him. Nevertheless, JUDGE HALLER (Gwynn) orders her to take the stand to testify.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY TROTTER (Smith) licks his chops, and smugly assumes that she couldn’t possibly know anything about cars, due to the fact that she is a young woman. Moronically, he takes the bait in the trap that has been set for him, and gets absolutely mic-dropped.
Great moments all around. Love how VINNY sits back, feet up, with a huge smile on his face and watches the courtroom carnage that ensues. TROTTER delivers condescension before being verbally jiu-jitsued into humbled silence. But the moment and scene belongs to Tomei. Her MONA LISA eviscerates TROTTER with an almost casual matter-of-factness. Her spot-on comedic timing, perfectly illustrated with her priceless “Howevah…”. A line delivery that I put in the comedic pantheon of cinematic moments.