r/movies • u/Puzzleheaded_Basil13 • Mar 10 '23
Marisa Tomei for ‘My Cousin Vinny’ Is the Rare Perfect Oscars Win Article
https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/my-favorite-oscars-win-marisa-tomei-for-my-cousin-vinny2.0k
u/BizarroJordan Mar 11 '23
An Oscar winner, Jerry!
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u/china-blast Mar 11 '23
Yeah, yeah. I have a thing for Marisa Tomei. Like she would ever go out with a short, stocky, bald man.
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u/littleuniversalist Mar 11 '23
Notice you threw bald in there.
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u/leeringHobbit Mar 11 '23
No, it's stocky that he threw in, I watched that clip last night.
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u/ConcreteKahuna Mar 11 '23
So you see it's really not so bad! It's just a ma, which is good, and noore which is also good. Ma Noor manure!
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u/bewarethesloth Mar 11 '23 edited Mar 11 '23
I always loved this line, but it also never made sense to me cuz I didn’t know what word he was saying for the “nure” or “noor” or “noore” part, but subtitles say he was saying “newer” which helps make it make more sense as two real separate words, and is also good, tmyk!
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u/ryanmcgrath Mar 11 '23
I mean, you’ve seen her, right?
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u/King_Buliwyf Mar 11 '23
...HOWEVAHH
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u/gertrude_is Mar 11 '23
...maybe it was a bad time to bring it up.
I can never decide if that scene is my favorite because there are too many. but I love the biological clock scene so much. her foot stomping, joe pesci's rebuttal and eye roll, and then her concession. it's perfect.
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u/Geeky-resonance Mar 11 '23
Their interactions are such a joy.
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u/hoginlly Mar 11 '23
’Imagine you’re a deer…’
Easily my favourite scene
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u/acherem13 Mar 11 '23
"I"
claps hands vertically followed by air grabbing boobies
"dentical"
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u/hnglmkrnglbrry Mar 11 '23
I love the fight about the dripping faucet. The way Vinny keeps needling her to start with kills me.
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u/Surroundedbygoalies Mar 11 '23
Every now and then my husband and I still throw out “maybe you didn’t twist it hawwwd enough” “I twisted it just right!”
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u/Untinted Mar 11 '23
I love how soft and gentle his response starts. “Honey I don’t need this..”. That monologue is a fucking masterpiece done by a maestro.
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u/adam_demamps_wingman Mar 11 '23
One of the best stories about Marisa Tomei told by director Sidney Lumet of Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead:
Sidney Lumet talked about the opening sex scene between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei: "I rarely use sex as a big dramatic device. Here I thought it was critical because you have to understand right away that this is what drives him. But I don't think Philip has ever conceived of himself in the nude fucking onscreen. It's just not something that comes his way. So when we started blocking, Marisa hopped up on the bed, got on her hands and knees, slapped her ass and said, "Come on Philly, let's go!" I could kiss her. Because if Philip had any inhibitions, they were gone."
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u/Dr_Pepper_spray Mar 11 '23
Marisa hopped up on the bed, got on her hands and knees, slapped her ass and said, "Come on Philly, let's go!"
Mops forehead
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u/UptownSinclair Mar 11 '23 edited Mar 11 '23
There are a lot of great books written by directors, but Scorsese on Scorsese is the best book about how to watch a film and Lumet’s Making Movies is one of the best books about working with actors.
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u/wagon_ear Mar 11 '23
How should i watch a film?
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u/matlockga Mar 11 '23
On an iPhone
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u/ctopherrun Mar 11 '23
It's a Southwest flight seatback screen or I'm not even bothering.
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u/oldsluggy Mar 11 '23
This quote has me dying. I miss Phil Hoffman dude
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u/Motorboat_Jones Mar 11 '23
Well. Dude. We just don't know. This is our concern, Dude.
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u/truffleboffin Mar 11 '23
I just watched St Vincent today and a Bill Murray did a similar thing with Naomi Watts who was mortified before their sex scene. Once they were in position he asked her "So are you seeing anybody?"
I was equally as shocked to read he meditated with his child costar before the big emotional finale. Given all we've heard about him on set
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u/nervousnonbeanie Mar 11 '23
Whats he known for on set?
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Mar 11 '23
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u/WaltonGogginsTeeth Mar 11 '23
Yet he’s managed to largely escape cancellation
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u/OiGuvnuh Mar 11 '23
It might be catching up to him. They paused production on one of his more recent projects because of some accusations by production staff. He had to do a mini talk show apology tour and that’s the last time I saw him.
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u/glStation Mar 11 '23
He was just the host for a charity concert two days ago in New York, but I think it’s a recurring gig. He’s a pretty complex dude - a mix of nice, dry, sarcastic, aggressive, and obviously fighting demons. Most people are, especially talented people.
Except Danny DeVito - he’s a saint. A goddamned saint.
/please don’t be bad Danny
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u/KrazyRuskie Mar 11 '23
Brandt can't watch, though - or he has to pay a hundred.
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u/TheMacerationChicks Mar 11 '23
Sidney Lumet is easily the most underrated director ever. He's never in anyone's lists for best directors, except people who are true fans of cinema. Everyone always says the usual, Tarantino, Scorcese, Copolla, Kubrick, Spielberg, Scott etc. But Lumet was better than all of them. Right up until his final film before he died, this one, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead.
He was very much like Copolla in style except WAY more consistent. Copolla has made a LOT of bombs. Financially and critically. Lumet made very few though, he made films just as good as the Godfather movies and Apocalypse Now, except he made a lot more of films of that quality than Copolla ever did.
This film for sure is one of his best. But he also directed films like 12 Angry Men, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, The Verdict, Serpico, Equus (that's one of my absolute favourite films ever, it's so strange and terrifying), The Offence (probably Sean Connery's best film he's starred in), The Wiz, Q&A, Prince of the City, Murder on the Orient Express, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (which has probably Philip Seymour Hoffman's best performance ever), Find Me Guilty, Daniel, The Fugitive Kind, The Deadly Affair, The Hill (also another candidate for Sean Connery's best movie ever), Running On Empty, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Fail Safe, The Pawnbroker, and dozens of others.
He also proved to be a secret weapon for actors, guiding 17 performers to Academy Award nominations and four to victories: Ingrid Bergman for “Murder on the Orient Express” in 1974 and Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight for “Network.” Ned Beatty (“Network”), Richard Burton (“Equus”), Albert Finney (“Murder on the Orient Express”), Peter Firth (“Equus”), Jane Fonda (“The Morning After”), Katharine Hepburn (“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”), William Holden (“Network”), James Mason (“The Verdict”), Paul Newman (“The Verdict”), Al Pacino (“Serpico” and “Dog Day Afternoon”), River Phoenix (“Running on Empty”), Chris Sarandon (“Dog Day Afternoon”) and Rod Steiger (“The Pawnbroker”) all earned bids under his direction.
I really wish people would give him the love he deserves. He deserves to be in every top 10 directors list, but bafflingly he remains pretty unknown. Again except for true fans of cinema. But the general population doesn't seem to have heard of his name, even though they've undoubtedly watched many of his films and loved them all. So I'm always trying to spread the word about Sidney Lumet and try to teach people about him when I can.
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u/eekamuse Mar 11 '23
Look at that list of films. Those are not just great, but highly entertaining.
My favorites, 12 angry men, Network, Dog Day, Orient Express, Failsafe.
It's funny, they made us watch Failsafe in high school. We never watched films. A black and white film in one room about nukes? No one paid attention. And now I know it's tense and exciting. Highly recommend it.
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u/evarigan1 Mar 11 '23
Network is an all timer for me. It's been a few years but last I watched it, still stood up better than most films from that era. So terrifyingly prophetic and excellently made.
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u/Schizo_Soliloquy Mar 11 '23
It's one of those movies where there isn't a true antagonist and it's better for it. They could have made the opposing counsel or the judge an asshat to make the movie more dramatic. They chose not to. In the end they're all just decent folks trying their best to do their jobs.
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u/OmniscientOctopode Mar 11 '23
Early on in the movie the guy that isn't Ralph Macchio suspects that they're being framed because the real killers are cousins of the sheriff, and if this movie was made today that would 100% be the plot of the movie. Studios are so afraid to just have a movie be fun.
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u/CantFindMyWallet Mar 11 '23
In his defense, the whole tempest thing was a pretty absurd coincidence
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u/FlannelBeard Mar 11 '23
Well everyone except Vinny
Mona Lisa Vito : So what's your problem?
Vinny Gambini : My problem is, I wanted to win my first case without any help from anybody.
Mona Lisa Vito : Well, I guess that plan's moot.
Vinny Gambini : Yeah.
Mona Lisa Vito : You know, this could be a sign of things to come. You win all your cases, but with somebody else's help, right? You win case after case, and then afterwards you have to go up to somebody and you have to say, "Thank you."
[pause]
Mona Lisa Vito : Oh, my God, what a fucking nightmare!
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u/TheMathelm Mar 11 '23
It's a limited slip differential which distributes power equally to both the right and left tires. The '64 Skylark had a regular differential, which, anyone who's been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you step on the gas, one tire spins, the other tire does nothing.
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u/TooMama Mar 11 '23
I love the little voice from the lady on the jury agreeing, “mmmhmm that’s right.”
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u/Superego366 Mar 11 '23
I always appreciated how this was foreshadowed in the muddy suit scene.
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u/Obliterated-Denardos Mar 11 '23
The movie follows good storytelling technique, so each of the cross examinations was properly foreshadowed. They show him learning what grits are, asking about the old lady's glasses, etc. Each cross examination is Vinny applying things that you watched him learn, but put together in a way that maintains a bit of surprise to show just how weak the prosecution's theory turns out to be.
The mud and limited slip differential is the most important of these courtroom developments, and works because they've already established the mud problem, and that Mona Lisa has an encyclopedic knowledge of cars.
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u/Somewhere_Elsewhere Mar 11 '23
This movie is also a very popular teaching aid in law schools, because it is the most accurate courtroom movie that wasn’t based on real life. The fact that there’s no surprise evidence trope because you literally can’t do that in an American court, and Marisa Tomei takes the wind out of Vinny’s sails after he thought he was simply slick, is so refreshing. And in the end he doesn’t do any rote movie tricks like eliciting a confession or producing surprize exonerating evidence, Vinny wins by doing his research, interviewing witnesses, and the comedically ripping apart the prosecution’s argument, completely winning over the jury in the process, all with the help of Marisa Tomei, who comes across as both ditzy and brilliant at the same time and still always seems authentic.
There’s a great breakdown of the legal parts here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a1I7QBCHqng
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u/BorinUltimatum Mar 11 '23
I think he mentions it in the video, but one of the key parts is how Pesce's character always leads the witnesses down a path to the point where the answers to the question don't matter, like with the talk of the trees and bushes in the way of one witnesses view of the store, and the timing on making grits. He leads them to a point where their answer to the last question doesn't matter because he's laid the groundwork to show reasonable doubt.
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u/CapWasRight Mar 11 '23
Yeah, not only is it a very realistic and accurate courtroom depiction, but he's also a pretty good lawyer on top of that.
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u/ActualAdvice Mar 11 '23
ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT 5 MINUTES?!
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u/SirDigbyChknCaesar Mar 11 '23
Are these magic grits?
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u/yfunk3 Mar 11 '23
Are we to believe that a grit soaks up water faster in your kitchen than anywhere else.on this planet?
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u/MrSneller Mar 11 '23
Your comment was hidden to me under the two talking legal defense. When I clicked on it I was expecting more courtroom discussion. Instead I instantly heard and saw Joe Pesci delivering that line and burst out laughing.
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u/porkchopsammich Mar 11 '23
The very first lines that Vinny and Lisa have in the movie are in an argument about mud stuck in their tires. They talk to a local who tells them that they town is famous for its mud.
Love this movie so much.
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u/TonyDungyHatesOP Mar 11 '23
And it’s paid off twice. You think it’s just the punchline for the ridiculous suit scene.
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u/GreatTragedy Mar 11 '23
Honestly most of the defense points he uses are foreshadowed. It's what makes it so satisfying.
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u/just-regular-I-guess Mar 11 '23
Do they talk about the kind and quality of hot breakfast foods in this movie? That's the genre I like most.
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u/oneluv_hug Mar 11 '23
Not enough accent
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u/zelet Mar 11 '23 edited Jun 09 '23
Deleted for Reddit API cost shenanigans that killed 3rd party apps
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u/tarpchateau Mar 11 '23
Imagine youre a little deer and you get thirsty… find a little brook and put your little deer lips to the water to get a drink… and BAM
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u/badkarmavenger Mar 11 '23
Your little deer brains are all over the ground. Now! You tell me! Do you give a fuck what kind if pants the asshole that shot you was wearing?!
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u/siddharthvader Mar 11 '23
I was thinking of this line while watching The Last of Us
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u/FoxOntheRun99 Mar 11 '23
"Are you sureeeee?"
"I'm positive"
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u/Im-Mr-Bulldopz Mar 11 '23
"How can you be so sure?"
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u/renegaderelish Mar 11 '23
Would you like me to explain it to you?
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u/ItsVadersNapTime Mar 11 '23
I would love to hear this!
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u/wewd Mar 11 '23
Fred Gwynne voice: So would I.
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u/Rhodog1234 Mar 11 '23
The eye glance / head nod gesture to the judge after she blows the court away is one of my all-time favorite scenes.
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u/TooMama Mar 11 '23
I know exactly what you’re talking about and I love that part too. Also the way she walks away from the stand so proud of herself and almost showing off for the jury.
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u/OnwardTowardTheNorth Mar 11 '23
Love this women in everything she does. And she was fantastic in My Cousin Vinny.
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u/aeschenkarnos Mar 11 '23
I’d love to have seen her and Fran Drescher and Parker Posey in some kind of interpersonal buddy/rivalry comedy ala Muriel’s Wedding or Mean Girls but with them all in their thirties. No scenery would have been left unchewed!
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u/Former-Counter-9588 Mar 11 '23
God this performance is iconic. Such an incredibly deserving win.
Should have won for The Wrestler, too!
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u/yuurei Mar 11 '23
Damn right she deserved it for The Wrestler. She was a perfect spark of hope for Rourke's character.
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u/Stinkycheese8001 Mar 11 '23
The courtroom scene is the most famous, but she was so funny the whole movie. So is Joe Pesci. That movie is always damn funny.
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u/myurr Mar 11 '23
So is Joe Pesci
I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? Waddya mean “funny”? Funny how? How am I funny?
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u/ViniVidiOkchi Mar 11 '23
We all think of Joe Pesci playing serious Mafi characters but he did his fair share of comedy. Home Alone 1 and 2, all the Lethal Weapons, Gone Fishin, My Cousin Vinny... He's actually a really good comedic actor.
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u/Unlikely_Layer_2268 Mar 11 '23
My biological clock!!! That’s The Line from the movie. She killed it
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u/cyrano111 Mar 11 '23
Supporting this claim - who even remembers any of those other performances today? The actresses, yes, but their performances in those roles, those movies? Not nearly as many as can derisively quote “you blend”.
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u/ainsleyadams Mar 11 '23
That movie is amazing, and let's be honest, her court appearance is brilliant; one of those scenes you love to revisit. Also, Slums of Beverly Hills ::swoon::
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u/fupa16 Mar 11 '23
My lord she is gorgeous.
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u/PHD-Chaos Mar 11 '23
Yup. With such a huge personality and car knowledge on top of it, she basically portrayed a lot of guys dream girl.
I know an old drag racing guy who talks about the testimony scene like it's pure pornography. Like "you hear the way she says positraction? Oh man"
She nailed that role in so many ways. Her looks and her ridiculous outfits just top it all off.
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u/Visible-Relation5318 Mar 11 '23
I know I’m late but just watched this for the first time tonight. It was awesome
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u/Puzzleheaded_Basil13 Mar 11 '23
it is getting re-visited a lot more since the success of Cobra Kai
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u/tea_colic Mar 11 '23
It was a great performance and she well deserved that award. One of my favorite actresses. However, when I see her I can't help but think Costanza.
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u/super_aardvark Mar 11 '23
Am I supposed to know what they mean by "perfect Oscars win"? They claim that this is "one of the only instances of it happening," but I have no idea what "it" is.
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u/CptNonsense Mar 11 '23
An award for a comedic role in a movie that is actually memorable
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u/CrystalDetails Mar 11 '23
One of the best characters ever invented!!!! "And he puts his little baby deer lips in the stream to drink some water"
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u/bacher2938 Mar 11 '23
May very well have been my first celebrity crush and has just aged flawlessly
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u/leese216 Mar 11 '23
And my biological clock is ::stamps foot in time:: TICKIN’ LIKE THIS
Seriously one of my favorite movies.
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u/Schmichael-22 Mar 11 '23
How is it after 30 years, that is her only Oscar win? Marisa Tomei is great in everything. She could have won for Untamed Heart, In the Bedroom, The Wrestler, or several others.
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u/aarrtee Mar 11 '23
This article is really well done. I would describe it as four degrees before top dead center.
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u/impendingfuckery Mar 11 '23
IT’S A FACT!
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u/RobValleyheart Mar 11 '23
Your honor, permission to treat the witness as hostile?
She's your witness.
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u/Motorboat_Jones Mar 11 '23
"You think I'm hostile now, wait until you see me tonight."
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u/Schmichael-22 Mar 11 '23
“Do you two know each other?”
“She’s my fiancé.”
“Well that explains the hostility.”
Perfect comedy. This movie is full of these..
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u/ThatGirl_Tasha Mar 11 '23
That movie is fun, funny, keeps you on edge and oddly, there is no bad guy. Everyone is just professional and happy to see the guys were innocent
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u/D-TOX_88 Mar 11 '23
I still don’t understand what a “perfect” Oscars win is. Can someone clarify? Just that it was her first win for her first nom in her breakout role? First first first?
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u/prince-of-dweebs Mar 11 '23
I agreed with every sentence in the article until the last one suggesting Kate Hudson’s glass onion role was award worthy.
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u/Geeky-resonance Mar 11 '23
Hmm, time to watch it again. I could use a good laugh. Love love love that film.
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u/crumble-bee Mar 11 '23
I only saw this film for the first time last year - I was expecting it to have a little less sheen for having not seen it at the time. Nope! Wow. What a sharp script. Great performances, great everything. I was utterly captivated from start to finish. And wow did I have a crush on her..
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u/mortalcoil1 Mar 11 '23
If The Wrestler had come out in the age of VHS, the scene where she is stripping would be damaged on rental tapes from all of the pausing.
Fun fact: This was actually a problem in Fast Times at Ridgemont High from that famous scene.
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u/strtjstice Mar 10 '23
What an epic performance in a surprisingly fun film. She made that movie what it is. We don't watch for Pecci so much as we do for their chemistry and her performance. Pitch perfect.
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u/_tobillys Mar 11 '23
Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne were also great in the movie.
In fact the entire supporting cast was great. It isn't only because of her. It also has fantastic writing.
Give me a fucking break lol
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u/itsculturehero Mar 11 '23
“I think. I get. The point.”
I rarely actually laugh out loud but that scene always has me dying
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u/klezart Mar 11 '23
"No, I don't think you do. Now you're officially in contempt of court! Would you like to say something else and go for two counts of contempt of court? "
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u/time-for-jawn Mar 11 '23
“They were!”
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u/TooMama Mar 11 '23
Thank you Miss Vito. Thank you very much. You have been a lovely (kiss), lovely, (kiss) witness.
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u/LilLebowskiAchiever Mar 11 '23
Rolling Stone Magazine did a great retrospective of this movie:
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/my-cousin-vinny-oral-history-1302630/
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u/TheRegular-Throwaway Mar 11 '23
I am in a punk rock band, professionally, and I am also on the wagon after a slightly interesting drinking career, and I am ashamed to say I have never been as fucked up as Jack Palance was here at the Oscars. That dude was LIT UP like a god damn motherfucker, god bless him.
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u/surferwannabe Mar 11 '23
I finally got around to watching this for the first time ever and it was definitely a win. The second she comes on screen with her little camera, it was an instant star making moment.
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u/tisn Mar 11 '23
Marisa Tomei is pure charisma in that film.