<P> My Cousin Vinny is a 1992 American comedy film written by Dale Launer and directed by Jonathan Lynn . The film stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill, and Fred Gwynne . This was Gwynne's final film appearance before his death on July 2, 1993 . </P> <P> The film deals with two young New Yorkers traveling through rural Alabama who are arrested and put on trial for a murder they did not commit and the comical attempts of a cousin, Vincent Gambini, a lawyer fresh out of law school, to defend them . Much of the humor comes from the contrasting personalities of the brash Italian - American New Yorkers, Vinny and his fiancée Mona Lisa, and the more reserved Southern townspeople . </P> <P> Lawyers have praised the movie's realistic depiction of courtroom procedure and trial strategy . Pesci, Gwynne, and Tomei all received critical praise for their performances, and Tomei won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . </P> <P> Driving through Alabama in their 1964 Buick Skylark convertible, Billy Gambini and Stan Rothenstein, college students from New York who just got scholarships to UCLA, shop at a convenience store and accidentally shoplift a can of tuna . After they leave, the store clerk is robbed and killed, and Billy and Stan are arrested for the murder . Due to circumstantial evidence and a confession to the shoplifting that is misconstrued as one to the shooting, Billy is charged with murder, and Stan as an accessory . Billy's mother tells him there is an attorney in the family: his cousin Vinny . Vincent LaGuardia Gambini travels there, accompanied by his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito . Although he is willing to take the case, Vinny is a personal injury lawyer from Brooklyn, newly admitted to the bar, and with no trial experience . </P>

Who played the judge in my cousin vinny