The film comes in third place on the American Bar Association’s list of greatest legal movies. Launer was honored by the ranking and said it was “like getting the Oscar. In some ways, better.”
Vincent Gambini also came in at Number 12 on the association’s list of Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Who Aren’t Atticus Finch).
Many Locations from the Film Are Open to Visitors
Although the story takes place in Alabama, the film was actually shot in different spots in three small towns in Georgia. Director Jonathan Lynn says in the DVD commentary, “Apart from the courtroom,” which was a set, “virtually everything was shot on location. It wasn’t a very expensive movie, and that was the cheaper way to go. It also had more authenticity.”
That means that even today you can visit a number of the film’s locations, including the newly reopened Sac-O-Suds convenience store, where you can buy as much tuna as you want, as long as you remember to pay for it!
The Law Community Gave the Film High Marks
Lawyer Maxwell S. Kennerly said about 'My Cousin Vinny' , “The movie is close to reality even in its details . Part of why the film has such staying power among lawyers is because, unlike, say, A Few Good Men , everything that happens in the movie could happen—and often does happen—at trial.” Law professor Alberto Bernabe, from the University of Chicago, gives his students a list of law movies organized by category, and puts Vinny under “Education”.
The film has also been praised by a Seventh Circuit Court Judge ; referenced by former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; used to teach young lawyers at legal conferences, and appeared in a legal textbook .
Tomei Heard About Her Oscar Nomination in an Unexpected Place
Actress Marisa Tomei was sleeping on her very pregnant friend’s couch when she discovered that she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She told David Letterman in 1993, that her friends were watching television in the other room and they woke her up. She said, “I didn’t know if she was going into labor or what.”
She went on to win the Oscar, and despite rumors to the contrary, which claimed that 74-year-old presenter Jack Palance said the wrong name, the actress really did win.
There Were Talks of a Sequel
Launer’s bio from 2004, claims that he had written a sequel, but some of the actors weren't interested back then. Years later, everybody seemed to be on board but the studios said too much time had passed already.
Whitfield has said that the sequel was supposedly centered on Vinny going to Europe.