The movie 'My Cousin Vinny' is the story of Joe Macchio and Marisa Tomei, two New Yorkers traveling through rural Alabama. In an odd series of events, they are charged with a murder they didn't commit and put on trial. Their cousin and rookie lawyer, Vincent Gambini (played by Joe Pesci), comes in to save the day.
His comic attempts to acquit them are amusing for the audience, but it turns out they have actual legal merit. Lawyers have praised the accuracy of the movie's depiction of trial procedures and trial strategy. One lawyer explained that the movie is so well received amongst legal professionals because "everything that happens in the movie could happen--and often does happen--at trial."
One legal textbook uses the movie to exemplify "the art of presenting expert witnesses at trial." Other law professors have utilized 'My Cousin Vinny' to teach courtroom tactics such as voir dire and cross-examination. Even Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, has cited the movie as an example of the principle that a client can use his own lawyer. 'My Cousin Vinny': Entertaining and educational.