My Cousin Vinny stars Joe Pesci as Vinny Gambini, an inexperienced lawyer from Brooklyn who must defend his nephew and his nephew's best friend when they are charged with murdering a convenience store operator in a small Alabama town. The judge (Fred Gwynne) is a stickler for procedural details. The key to Vinny's success as a lawyer is in the head and the heart of his outspoken fiancee. Marisa Tomei steals the film with her surprise-a-minute performance as an unemployed hairdresser who also is a specialist in auto mechanics. My Cousin Vinny is a crowd-pleasing comedy. Director Jonathan Lynn makes the most out of the cultural differences between all the characters.