A Few Good Men Vs. Cousin Vinny (Ep. 0038)
You'll be hard-pressed to find real-life subject matter more exaggerated and glamourized than the courtroom. Hollywood has taken lots of liberty representing the legal system over the years. 1992 was arguably the most significant year for courtroom films. Widely regarded as two of the best courtroom films ever made, we analyze A Few Good Men and My Cousin Vinny. Although they represent two different genres, they have a long list of commonalities. We also get to explore the performances of two prolific actors in Tom Cruise and Joe Pesci. Although they don't necessarily possess the same range as other greats, they have seen their talents utilized in various genres. Help the Movie Wars crew determine a verdict for these amazing courtroom films.
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About A Few Good Men(courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes)
Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is a military lawyer defending two U.S. Marines charged with killing a fellow Marine at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Although Kaffee is known for seeking plea bargains, a fellow lawyer, Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), convinces him that the accused marines were most likely carrying out an order from a commanding officer. Kaffee takes a risk by calling Col. Nathan R. Jessep (Jack Nicholson) to the stand in an effort to uncover the conspiracy.
Rating:
R
Genre:
Drama
Original Language:
English
Director:
Rob Reiner
Producer:
Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, David Brown
Writer:
Aaron Sorkin
Release Date (Theaters):
Dec 11, 1992 Wide
Release Date (Streaming):
May 6, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA):
$141.3M
Runtime:
2h 18m
Distributor:
Columbia Pictures, Columbia Tristar
About My Cousin Vinny(Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes)
New York lawyer Vinny has never won a case. When his teenage cousin Bill and his friend Stan are accused of murder in a backwater Alabama town, it's up to the nervous Vinny to save him from jail, even though he's only ever tried personal injury cases before, and none of them successfully.
Rating:
R
Genre:
Comedy
Original Language:
English
Director:
Jonathan Lynn
Producer:
Dale Launer, Paul Schiff
Writer:
Dale Launer
Release Date (Theaters):
Mar 13, 1992 Wide
Release Date (Streaming):
Jan 30, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA):
$50.9M
Runtime:
1h 59m
Distributor:
20th Century Fox