I get why Marisa Tomei was nominated for an Oscar here. I even get why she won. It's a great performance. Her character is funny, intelligent, and has depth that Tomei brings out wonderfully and she has great chemistry with Joe Pesci. And I always love when comedic performances are recognized and praised. The final court scene where Vinny cross-examines her is wonderful. It's flirty, fast paced and lets both characters show how smart they are.
Joe Pesci is pretty damn good in this as the street smart lawyer as he navigates the twists and turns of his very first court case and he's damn funny doing it , For example, I love when he meets the prosecutor and subtly copies what he does.
The director was a lawyer and I know a couple people in law who like this movie for how realistic it is while still maintaining the comedy.
Finally, I really like how it portrays the South. They're not rubes, just regular people and stuff like trials and police work are deadly serious. Lesser writers and directors would have had Vinny outsmart the dumb rednecks, but this movie is smarter than that. I really love the grits scene. My grandma was from small town Mississippi and I, being a Californian, had a very similar reaction the first time I was given grits (Which I now love, but you can't get a decent meal of them in California)
