Talk:My Cousin Vinny

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[edit] Trivia

In the book, Reel Justice, the authors point out that Vinny did not have to depend on Mona testifying as an expert on automobiles. This is because since Vinny is an experienced mechanic himself and had no way of knowing that expertise would be relevant to the trial before it started, the rules of court would have allowed him to take the stand himself and deliver the same testimony.

  • Or he probably could have won the case on appeal because of the judge's decision to allow the prosecution's FBI witness without giving the defense time to prepare.
I deleted this section. Ethical rules do not permit a lawyer to be both an advocate and a witness in the same proceeding, with very limited exceptions that don't apply here. [1] The fact that the trial was under way wouldn't matter. The function of a lawyer is to explain evidence, the function of a witness is to provide it. There is too much risk the jury would confuse the two. The judge would be far more likely to declare a mistrial, appoint other counsel, then allow Vinny to testify to a fresh jury. And he would do that only if Vinny could show that no other mechanic could so testify. Which would place doubt on the reliability of Vinny's testimony. In the final analysis, Vinny had no choice but to put Mona on the stand.--Wehwalt 18:45, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced section removed

I removed this section:

According to Dale Launer, the screenwriter, he had Lisa testify because he wanted her to share in Vinny's victory.[citation needed]

James Belushi was originally offered the role of Vinny, but he turned it down.[citation needed] Danny Devito was once attached to either direct or star, but he dropped out of the project.[citation needed] Robert De Niro was championed by the producer and director, but deemed "not funny" by the studio heads.[citation needed] At the time he had only appeared in one comedy, Midnight Express.

Originally, Vinny's character was dyslexic. The condition was to be the reason it took him so long to pass the bar.[citation needed]

...because it struck me as very fishy. Preliminary research indicated that DeNiro was not in Midnight Express. I suspect that these claims could either be speculative gossip or someone's attempt to publish nonsense and see if it will stick. Even if they're true, these claims should all be sourced. Croctotheface 08:31, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

You are correct that De Niro was not in Midnight Expresss. I think it would also be a bit of a stretch to call Midnight Express a comedy. De Niro was, however, in the 1988 film Midnight Run which was definitely a comedy. He was also in the 1990 film We're No Angels, which was technically a comedy, even if it is generally regarded as not very funny. Even we don't have an article for it - how good can it be?

He was also in Brazil (film), a black comedy. marbeh raglaim 05:39, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Beechum County merge

There's really no reason I can see that the fictional Beechum County should have its own article. It's only linked from here and from lists of fictional counties, and there is no information in that article that isn't in this one. I'll wait a bit and then turn that article into a redirect. Croctotheface 05:50, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wazoo merge

Ditto Beechum County. There is no information here that warrants its own article. All the information in the Wazoo article is contained in this article. I can't imagine any notable information that would be appropriate for the Wazoo article and not for this one. As I think this is pretty uncontroversial, I'll wait a bit and then go ahead with the merge. Croctotheface 08:26, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plot hole?

When the two 'yoots' were arrested, would the police have told them what they were charged with (murder) and read them their rights? This might have eleminated the 'coffesion' etc. This might have been a poetic licence but its worth noting.--Doom Child 02:27, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Judge's Name

Where in the movie is the judge's name mentioned. The only part I can think of is when Vinny is in the judge's office and looks at the diplomas but the camera doesn't zoom in enough on the diplomas to see the man's name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.237.206.66 (talk) 17:58, 30 March 2008 (UTC)