Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Joe Pesci stars as a Guido lawyer from New York sent to Alabama to defend his cousin in a murder trial.
Loved
The acting, the tight screenplay.
Liked
The genuine tension.
Thoughts
A very fun film that was smarter than it looked.
I loved the performances, especially by Pesci and the lovely Marisa Tomei as Pesci's fiance who refuses to sit on the sidelines during the trial. Fred Gwynne, Lane Smith, and Ralph Macchio also put in strong performances, and even had authentic-sounding accents. Gwynne was especially enjoyable as the booming, tolerant, but take-no-guff judge.
Not only was the writing very funny, but it was well-thought out. There was a lot of comedy derived from putting two American stereotypes into a fish-out-of-water formula. Yet, the stereotypes were done tastefully, there was nothing mean-spirited about either portrayed sub-culture.
Heck, even the antagonists were not mean-spirited either. There was no convenient conspiracy, or evil characters, just regular people thrust into a murder trial, with lawyers, authorities and judges doing their job. Because the situation felt genuine, the tension during the court and the cousin's life on the line felt genuine as well.
Another amazing part about the writing was its deceptive way of moving the plot. There were early scenes that just appeared to be entertaining culture-clash scenes, when there was nuggets of information that would be used later on. Also, the courtroom scenes managed to be plausible, entertaining, and still moved the trial to its conclusion. Pretty much every scene had a purpose.
My only nitpick was the tension between Pesci and Tomei coming to a boiling point felt slightly forced, two-thirds of the way through. But not a momentum-killer.
Thanks to the the wonderful performances and smart writing, this film has held up very well over the years, and I definitely see myself re-watching this in the future.
What I would change
Nothing.
Random
Jess Harnell (Wakko Warner) sang some of the songs on the soundtrack!
