In 1992, about halfway between his legendary turns in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas and Casino, Joe Pesci played his other iconic 1990s role: That of Vincent Gambini, the rookie Brooklyn attorney trying his falsely-accused cousin’s murder case in rural Alabama, in the comedy My Cousin Vinny.
Directed by Jonathan Lynn, My Cousin Vinny was part of the fish-out-of-water, culture-clash tradition, which was very popular in the 1980s and ’90s but less so today. The film, released 30 years ago this week, also brought Pesci, an actor known largely for tough-guy roles, into a comedy, with highly successful results. Even so, the film was all but stolen by Marisa Tomei, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role.
