My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Vincent "Vinny" Gambini (Joe Pesci) is a cocky Brooklyn lawyer who passed the bar exam on his sixth attempt very recently. He's representing his cousin and a friend, two California-bound college students accused for capital murder following a brief stop at a convenience station in rural Alabama. Nonetheless, in Judge Chamberlain Haller's courtroom, the rule of law reigns supreme (Fred Gwynne).

The film has cinema's shortest opening argument ("Everything that person just said is nonsense."), the best-ever introduction to the laws of criminal procedure, and a case that rests on expert testimony about tire marks left by a 1964 Skylark and the optimal grits boiling time.

Trivia: Marisa Tomei won the Oscar for best supporting actress.

Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield