My Cousin Vinny
Hey, Do You Remember...?
Christopher Schrader
4.8 • 676 Ratings
🗓️ 6 April 2018
⏱️ 93 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You come from New York. You killed a good-ole-boy. There is no way this is not going to trial. And the only guy standing between you and the electric chair? My Cousin Vinny.
Extrapolated from a handful of experiences the screenwriter had in real life and fact-checked by a director who went to law school, this 1992 fish-out-of-water comedy provides a surprisingly accurate portrayal of a criminal trial. The real draw here, however, is of course the pitch-perfect casting of Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei.
And yet... Pesci was not the first choice for the title role and Tomei's character was nearly cut from the script. Development was a weird and wild ride and this is a great example of the alchemy involved in filmmaking.
Topics include: the chance meeting that inspired the story, a stereotype about Italian mothers that created structural issues, some really interesting alternate casting choices, a sequel that was written but never filmed, the unusual way Pesci did reprise this role, and much much more!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, do you remember my cousin Vinnie? |
| 0:06.5 | Hello and welcome to Hey, do you remember Hey Do You Remember, a show where we reminisce about a movie or TV series we grew up with, then take off the rose-tinted glasses to see how it holds up. |
| 0:32.1 | I'm Chris. |
| 0:32.8 | I'm Donna. |
| 0:33.5 | And I'm Carlos. |
| 0:34.4 | And today we're revisiting my cousin Vinnie. |
| 0:52.9 | Yeah. And I'm Carlos. And today we're revisiting my cousin Vinnie. You've probably all heard the expression, write what you know. |
| 0:56.4 | And in the case of this 1992, Fish Out of Water comedy, the filmmakers took that advice, quite literally. |
| 1:02.2 | The idea for the titular character and my cousin Vinnie came from an encounter that screenwriter Dale Launer had back in the early 70s with a guy who was waiting for his bar exam results. |
| 1:12.3 | When asked what would happen if he didn't pass, the guy said he'd just take it again. |
| 1:16.9 | And again. And again, if he had to. |
| 1:20.3 | Lonner asked him what the record was for most attempts at taking the exam before finally passing. |
| 1:25.7 | 13, he replied. |
| 1:27.9 | Imagine that, Loner thought. |
| 1:29.8 | The person who had to take the bar exam |
| 1:31.8 | 13 times was out there somewhere practicing law. |
| 1:35.7 | What would you do if you got stuck with them? |
| 1:37.8 | What would happen if you were convicted of a serious crime |
| 1:40.4 | and the only person in your corner was the worst lawyer on earth? |
| 1:45.5 | These musings laid the foundation for the script. And with the skeleton of the story in place, Launer took a road trip across |
| 1:50.5 | the south for further inspiration. And many of the little details he observed along the way |
| 1:55.3 | made their way into the finished film. And then when director Jonathan Lynn came on board, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Christopher Schrader, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Christopher Schrader and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.