Cinema: Guilty by Reason of Inanity

Nothing makes a moviegoer feel more isolated than sitting stony-faced through a comedy that makes the rest of the audience laugh and cheer. Am I blind? Or are they seeing things? With the new hit MY COUSIN VINNY, we vote for seeing things. This fish-outta-wautta farce plops a rude Italo-American (Joe Pesci) into the cracker barrel of an Alabama town to defend his cousin (Ralph Macchio) on a murder rap. Pesci, a vacuum-packed version of all Three Stooges, struts and mugs, but gets most of his laughs with his preposterous coiffure (Mr. Pesci's hair by Anthony Sorrentino). Other good actors are strewn along the winding story line like road kill; the only exception is Marisa Tomei as Vinny's wondrously sardonic fiance. Tomei's pauses in her derision -- "Oh. Yeah. You blend." -- can melt even a critic's reserve. The rest of the proceeding is smug and labored, stretching jokes about mistaken identity and prison rape into endless tropes. So go ahead. Enjoy the rabble- truckling comedy of My Cousin Vinny. Just don't feel good about it. R.C.