YMMV / My Cousin Vinny

• Accidental Aesop: The movie is a great case of what not to do if you're being interrogated by the police. Bill intentionally waives his right to silence and accidentally confesses to murder, getting himself and Stan in even worse trouble than if they just kept their mouths shut.
• Awesome Music: Bible Belt by Travis Tritt featuring Little Feat is a really fun song that plays over the closing credits.
• Comedy Ghetto: Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her memorable performance, yet the fact that for years rumors persisted that it was given to her by mistake should be able to tell you how much her performance was affected by this trope.
• Heartwarming Moments: Vinny recounting the story of how he became a lawyer, all because a friendly judge and fellow Brooklynite believed in him and encouraged him to go for it.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Everything that guy just said is bullshit. Thank you."^Explanation Vinny's opening statement, in response to the prosecutor's opening statement. The brevity and bluntness of it made it very memorable, and often used to sum up a persons argument that basically boils down to this point.
  • "What is a 'yoot'?"^Explanation The judge asking what 'yoot' is, in response to Vinny's heavy New Yorker accent pronunciation of 'youth'. Often used to mock heavy New York accents.
• One-Scene Wonder: Austin Pendleton as John Gibbons, the stuttering public defender, despite his limited screen time is still one of the most memorable things in the movie, perhaps behind Lisa's testimony.
• Signature Scene: Lisa's testimony is the one scene that everyone remembers from the movie (even if the controversy over her actress's Oscar win may have also been a factor).
• Unconventional Learning Experience: Notably, law schools actually show this movie to students to dissect and learn from. My Cousin Vinny enjoys the distinction of being one of the most accurate legal movies ever made, although it's a comedy.
• Vindicated by History: Marisa Tomei's Oscar win was rather controversial for years, but the reception has improved as time's gone by, with her performance unquestionably being the most iconic of that year's nominees. In particular, the rumour, instigated by film critic Rex Reed, was that Jack Palance had messed up and had simply read out the last name on the teleprompter, accidentally awarding the Oscar to Marisa Tomei. This was denied by the Academy, but the mixup at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017, when La La Land was mistakenly announced as Best Picture instead of Moonlight, goes to show what would have happened if Palance had indeed made a mistake: they would have interrupted the ceremony and given it to the right person. Marisa Tomei was the right person.

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