Joe Pesci (in a funny wig) is Vinny, a fortysomething Brooklyn boy, newly graduated from law school with amazingly little knowledge of legal procedure and absolutely no qualifications in social graces.

Vinny's all at sea when called on to defend his young cousin (Ralph Macchio) and a friend on a murder charge, and it looks like the boys are for the chair!

Such fun as is to be had in the first hour stems from the constant flow of bad language from Vinny and his fiancée (the stunning Marisa Tomei in an Oscar-winning performance) and his fruitless efforts to find a hotel where he can actually get some sleep.

Things liven up a bit more when Vinny starts turning into a Columbo of the courtroom, but the meat of the film takes little more than 10 minutes to unfold.

Big Fred Gwynne, in one of his last screen roles, is drolly funny as the judge, while most of the actors around him are going over the top; Macchio is wasted in a nothing role.

Thanks to Tomei it's worth watching but don't expect a feast of fun.