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But trouble awaits as Bill forgets to pay for a can of tuna...

By Raymond Weschler

 

 

Major Characters"

Vinny Gambino.................Joe Pesci

Italian-American mechanic from New York who just passed his Bar exam after six previous attempts, and has therefore just become a lawyer (every lawyer must pass "the bar" in order to practice law).

 

Mona Lisa Vito..................Marisa Tomei

Vinny's girlfriend who has agreed to marry him as soon

as he wins his first case.

 

Bill Gambini.......................Ralph Macchio

Vinny's cousin who is a student who will be going to school at UCLA

(The University of California, Los Angeles).

 

Stan Rothenstein..............Mitchell Whitfield

Bill's friend who will also be going to UCLA.

 

Judge Haller........................Fred Gwynne

Alabama Judge who presides over Bill and Stan's trial.

 

Jim Trotter the 3rd...........Lane Smith

Prosecuting attorney in Bill and Stan's trial.

 

Plot Summary

Bill and Stan are two students from New York who decide to drive across

the country in order to go to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where they will attend school. Unfortunately, on their way, they are mistakenly arrested in the state of Alabama for the murder of a convenience store clerk. They clearly did not do it, but there seems to be a large amount of evidence against them, and they could find themselves facing the death penalty if they don't have a very good lawyer.

 

Unfortunately, they don't have a very good lawyer, but Bill is able to get

his cousin Vinny to come to Alabama to represent them. It's Vinny's first murder trial. In fact, it's his first trial of any kind (since he only passed his Bar exam six weeks earlier). Still, Vinny is going to do his very best for his family.

 

This movie is a funny comedy, with lots of useful colloquial language.

It's also a good exploration of America's legal culture, as well as some of

the differences between people from two very different parts of the USA:

New York City, and the deep South.

 

Words and Expressions That you May Not Know

Bill and Stan head for the South on their way to California,

but trouble awaits as Bill forgets to pay for a can of tuna...

Alabama

A state in the Southern part of the United States.

Generics.

Products sold in stores that don't have a "brand name"

and are therefore usually cheaper.

 

Beans make you fart. :: It's OK because we got a convertible.

A crude way to say to pass (intestinal) gas. A "convertible"

is a car in which you can remove the top to enjoy the sun.

 

One large slush, please.

Flavored drink made of crushed ice sold in convenience stores.

 

W.S.S.T., special requests.

All radio stations are identified by 4 letters, always starting with

either a 'W' or a 'K.'

 

Jesus, I forgot to pay for this.

This is often said at the beginning of sentences to



express emotions like surprise or anger.

 

The laws are medieval down here.

Literally "from the middle ages," or in this case,

meaning "very severe or strict."

 

Fuck! God damn it!

Two very common and crude ways to express anger.

 

You don't have any money for bail!

A legal term referring to the money you need to get released from jail while you prepare for a trial after being charged with a serious crime.

 

Get them up!

What a policeman screams if he thinks a suspect has a gun in his hands (Note that in rapid speech, "Get them up" ----> "get'em up").

 

Have you been made aware of your rights?

This refers to rights that every person is guaranteed under the United States Constitution, such as the right to say nothing to

the police, and the right to have a lawyer.

 

Aiding and abetting.

Legal terms for the act of helping a person commit a crime.

 

Accessory?!

A legal term for an "assistant to a criminal"

(which makes the assistant a criminal himself!)

 

Unless he's convicted...in which case there will be enough

electricity going through him to light up Birmingham.

To be "convicted" is to be found officially guilty of a crime. The entire sentence refers to the electric chair which is used to execute criminals such as murderers (Birmingham is the biggest city in Alabama).

 

We were going to UCLA.

The University of California, Los Angeles (A famous university).

 

I shot the clerk?! :: I'm in the middle of a damnconfession here!

A "confession" is the act of admitting guilt.

 

They're fucking with us.

A crude way of saying "they're trying to harm us"

(Depending on the context, "fucking" used this way can mean "manipulate, tease, harm, etc..")

 

I'm being booked for being an accessory to shoplifting?!

A person who is "booked" is officially charged with a crime.

 

Do you know any great attorneys?

Another word for lawyer.

 

Wazoo, Beechum County, Alabama

The town, county and State where Bill and Stan are arrested.

 

They're trying to set us upas patsies.

"To set up" someone is to make people believe something untrue about them (i.e....that they committed a crime). "A patsy" is a person who is easily blamed for something they didn't do.

 

They're all inbred. They sleep with their sisters.

A crude word for people who are the children of incestuous relationships (i.e....whose parents are brother and sister, cousins, etc.).

 

 


Date: 2015-12-17; view: 763


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