Why My Cousin Vinny Is Perfect (An Interview With The Writer Dale Launer)

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Sorry, occupational hazard: This is not legal advice, nor can I give you legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. Sorry! Everything here is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But if you click, it really helps me make more of these videos! All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Special thanks:
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[jeremyortiz]

"Changed my major, and my grades went up" is proof that he made the right decision. This is an excellent video. I loved it. 👏

[tomroberts]

it may sound silly - but THANK YOU for interviewing the writer! Too often I see interviews asking anyone BUT the writer about... y'know... the writing.

[DrVictorVasconcelos]

I can't believe the entire reason you created this channel was to one day interview Dale Launer. No, wait, I can. This movie is great.

[evilanagram]

I was a juror for an assault case, and the defense actually used a line from My Cousin Vinny.
"What's that in front of your balcony?"
"A tree."
"And what are those green things?"
"Uh... leaves?"

[christhornycroft]

Marisa Tomei is reason alone to see this movie, even if you’re not into the legal stuff, and I am. She steals this movie, and playing opposite Joe Pesci, an aggressive personality, is not easy. I like that they went with a shorter guy. It made the character an underdog physically. If he beat up the pool guy and he was 6’2, it wouldn’t have been funny. It could have been seen as bullying. The casting was spot on and while they do make references to southern racism (“all our little old ancestors”), it’s not fixated on. The fact that the defendants are Italian and Jewish (mispronunciation of “Rothenstein”) and they’re from the north isn’t entirely ignored. There’s a general mistrust, particularly from the perspective of the Alabaman characters.

[_The_Archive_]

Fun Fact: When Vinny is trying to explain his "real name" to Judge Haller, he knocks over the judge's chess board. This was accidental but director Jonathan Lynn thought it was so funny and authentic he decided to leave it in the film.

[michaelmichelsen]

I watch My Cousin Vinny at least once a year. I laugh throughout the movie every time. It is one of the best written and acted movies of all time. I love how Monia Lisa's character saves the day with her testimony and Vinny encourages her to do so. Win-Win. That is such a pleasant twist. All of the actors were brilliantly casted and did a tremendous job in their roles. I really enjoyed Fred Gwinn in his last performance. He was such an underrated cometic actor. Beyond teaching us something about the law, it also teaches us that we don't usually succeed by ourselves. It takes the help of many other people who are generally willing to assist. Just make sure that you give them credit, praise and say thank you. It will definitely help you in the long run. As Monia Lisa says at the end of the movie: "You win all of your cases, but with someone elses' help. You win case after case and later you have to go up to someone and say thank you... What a f**ing nightmare!!" She is joking of course, because it's not. It's a blessing.😊

[JohnWilliams-crsz]

My brother went to law school, actually told me that in one his classes they ended up watching My Cousin Vinny. He was quite happy about that.

[rmdodsonbills]

When he said "Vinny is dyslexic" that made several things make sense. Sure, he had to work at the garage and all that, made perfect sense to me at the time. But when dyslexia came into it, the first picture in my mind was Vinny sitting in the hotel room, book on his lap and he closes it in frustration and looks off into the distance with worry on his face. Even if it was never mentioned specifically, it was still there. Just makes me love the movie all the more. I have always loved this movie and all the award nominations were absolutely earned.

On first viewing, Lisa's testimony about positraction and all was very impressive, genius even. It wasn't until much later that I realized that Vinny also came to the same conclusion on just as little evidence. But he knew that as the lawyer, he couldn't testify, and so Lisa was in fact the only person he knew and was available on short notice that could save those boys. And he knew exactly the question he needed to ask her to get her to see the evidence and go to the right conclusion. He knew she would get there if he pushed her to figure out why he was wrong.

I cannot imagine anyone remaking this movie. What could you do that would be different that wouldn't take something away from the original?

[masterofallgoons]

Joe Pesci's height was a real asset to the movie especially when they cast Fredy Gwynn as the judge. That height difference changed the dynamic that he had in mind when he wrote it, but making the Judge intimidating in that way and when Vinnie is a generally confident guy is such a great way part of the film.

[tomc]

Haven't watched the Nebula version of this yet, but one thing that didn't come up in the YouTube version of this video is the "confession" scene where Ralph Macchio says "I shot the clerk" and Bruce McGill's sheriff takes it literally, and from what we see, the sheriff isn't being underhanded or manipulative, but thinks he's getting a bona fide confession when he's not. Part of this goes to one of the biggest strengths of the movie: that everybody is trying to do the right thing and everybody is acting from honest motives. It also shows how language can be slippery and easily misinterpreted in a situation like the interrogation.

[ComboBreakerHD]

My old man was a classic attorney, he was a Sr partner when I was just child. He was very stoic and serious. Into law and history dramas. He only ever liked one comedy movie, My Cousin Vinnie, which was a rare time I got to hear him fully whaling from laughter. This movie left a deep imprint on me. To this day when I hear the word "youth"..

[joncarroll]

The fact that there was a time when Robert DeNiro was not considered as a credible lead in a comedy is itself hilarious. Launer was ahead of the curve.

[IrritationX]

Absolutely love this film. Everything about the criminal process in it, from arrest and where the detective sits during the interrogation all the way through trial, is "dead on balls accurate."

[bjrneirikstrkersen]

I agree on the part about not having predetermined ideas of who the actors should be. Beverly Hills Cop was originally written with Sylvester Stallone in mind, but getting Eddie Murphy instead turned out to be fantastic.

[jasonrichard]

So funny hearing the way Vinnie was originally envisioned physically. 6’2 and built like a boxer is almost the exact description of the real life mobster that Joe Pesci’s character in Goodfellas is based off of. It’s interesting to imagine how differently the character connects to the audience if an actor who is a foot taller were to give the same performance.

[jennaheiser]

I watched this movie because of your breakdown, and it’s now one of my favorites. Everyone and their motivations are so justified and relatable, and the internal logic/authenticity is phenomenal.

[tom_something]

It's rare to have a movie with so much tension, so much adversity, so much humor... but yet also so much kindness and respect. That last one is often bargained off to bolster the other three. It's a happy, charming, feel-good movie about a murder trial.

[Drummerdude]

This movie started my life long crush on Marissa Tomei. I 100% agree she is the most important part of the movie.

[dr.braxygilkeycruises]

In over 30 years working in Law, I have yet to meet an attorney who doesn't have *My Cousin Vinny* in their top 10 list of favorite movies. GREAT interview, Devin!!