# Marisa Tomei's Oscar for "My Cousin Vinny" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020 "2005-01-16T13:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/21 "2005-01-16T18:35:20Z")
Eek, I’ve always been thrilled with Tomei’s win. I think her performance certainly merited nomination. That role would most likely have been completely forgettable in the hands of another actress. In theory as well, I always like to see comedy get the nod at the Oscars. Excellence in a comedic role is just as difficult to achieve as excellence in a dramatic role, and I think it’s unfortunate that the nomination slate generally doesn’t seem to reflect this. One thing that I always think is interesting is the fact that in an annual award show, _by definition_ you’re looking at films and performances in a very immediate way. I always think it’s neat to look back at the awards and nominations ten years later and see how everything has aged, and make up my own “retro awards” and see how they compare to the actual awards from that year. Ten years out of the gate, sometimes things look different. In this case, the 1992 Supporting Actress, I think Tomei’s award holds up very well. Looking at the other nominees, the closest runner up in my mind is Miranda Richardson. Joan Plowright’s performance doesn’t _to me_ stand out as extraordinary, although I thought it was a nice performance in a nice film. There was probably some vote-splitting between Joan and Vanessa Redgrave among the Merchant-Ivory-esque film crowd. I haven’t seen _Husbands and Wives_ since 1992, so I have nothing to share on Judy Davis. I also wonder if sometimes there is a subtle negative backlash for actors who give more than one Oscar-worthy performance within a year, as **Askia** pointed out, Miranda Richardson’s nomination could very well have been for _The Crying Game_ (and plenty of people think it SHOULD HAVE been). There’s always a lot of talk when people suspect that someone’s Oscar for one performance was _really_ intended to recognize work in another _coughChercough_. I wonder if some voters try to be extra-conscientious about this, sitting down with their ballot and saying “Now, just because I think Miranda should have been nominated for _The Crying Game_, I’m not going to automatically vote for her for _Damage_, let’s see who else we’ve got.” I used to live with a roommate who was a voting member in a technical category, and he worked with people who were voting members in the performance areas. It was fascinating to hear all the talk going on during the award season each year (plus a nice perk to have videos of the nominated films brought to the house!) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/22 "2005-01-16T18:38:35Z")
The simple truth of the matter is that Brian Griffin rigged the award as a favor to Jack Nicholson. Nicholson, however, refused to return the favor and snubbed Brian when he tried to make it in Hollywood as a screenwriter. **continuity eror** has a point though. If you look back at the lists of Oscar winners over the years, you see a lot of cases where you go, “Huh? What the hell were they thinking?” Movies that make a big splash when they’re released don’t necessarily have a lot of staying power, while movies with staying power don’t always get noticed when they’re first released. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/23 "2005-01-16T18:39:23Z")
Interesting theory, but it’s not an overwhelming trend. Recent Best Supporting Actors include Cuba Goodling Jr., who was 28 when he won the award, and Benicio del Toro, who was 33 when he was more or less acclaimed. Toro beat out Albert Finney, who was a sentimental favourite. However, Goodling is one of only two under-30 actors who’ve won it I can think of. Most actors aren’t “elderly” when they win the award though; the great, great majority are around 40-55. On the female side there’s a definite favouritism for hot young actresses. This applies to Best Actress, too: 2003 - Charlize Theron 2002 - Nicole Kidman 2001 - Halle Berry 2000 - Julia Roberts 1999 - Hilary Swank (okay, she’s kind of equine) 1998 - Gwyneth Paltrow 1997 - Helen Hunt 1996 was Frances McDormand for “Fargo,” who is a nice lady but isn’t “hot” and was 37 or 38 at the same, which is getting a bit far from young. So we’re now on a streak of seven actresses in a row who were both young and ranged from attractive to gorgeous (at least according to popular opinion; I don’t see what people see in Gwyneth Paltrow), six of whom had never even been nominated before. Julia Roberts had been up for a few Oscars prior to winning. That’s just a recent trend though; previously, Best Actress awards were better distributed. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/24 "2005-01-16T18:54:55Z")
It’s “Gooding,” not Goodling. Another thing that must be factored into his win is his race. When he won there were IIRC four black Academy Award winners for acting (Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg and Louis Gosset Jr.). Same goes for Halle Berry’s win. I haven’t seen the movie so I have no idea about her performance, but once she and Denzel were nominated in the same year and it became a story, she was a shoo-in. Peter O’Toole probably won’t win an acting award because he was given the Lifetime Achievement award last year. This excuses the Academy from ever having to give him an award for an actual movie. It was long my theory that Spielberg got IIRC the Thalberg award for the same reason, so the Academy would never have to nominate him for a directing Oscar. But then came Schindler’s List… IMHO a lot of the sniping about Marissa Tomei’s Oscar had to do with her perceived lightweight status. I don’t hear so much of it now that she has a dramatic nomination as well. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/25 "2005-01-16T19:22:10Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > was for her last five minutes onscreen in _Monster’s Ball_, and her reaction to discovering her boyfriend was responsible for her husband’s execution. I haven’t seen the movie yet. Is that a spoiler? ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/26 "2005-01-16T20:08:47Z")
> [@Glassy](#): > > I thought **My Cousin Vinny** was a mediocre movie. I also thought that Marissa Tomei was hilarious in it. I was so impressed with her performance, I went back to the theater and saw it again, and I dragged some friends with me the second time. “This movie is only okay,” I told them, “but you gotta see it for this one character.” My thoughts exactly. _My Cousin Vinny_ wasn’t much of a movie, but Tomei did a great job. She was hysterically funny as a Brooklyn babe taken out of her usual environs and thrust into, well, wherever the movie was set. Pesci and Macchia (is that his name) were forgettable. Pesci isn’t much of an actor. He does one thing very well, and that ability was used to great effect in _Goodfellas_. Macchia just can’t act. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/27 "2005-01-16T20:27:18Z")
I’m going to agree, too. Tomei made that movie. I think Pesci did a good job and played to her well, but without Tomei that movie would have bombed. She deserved props for that. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/28 "2005-01-16T20:34:42Z")
Askia writes: \> Tomei was the only American actress nominated that year. The \> rest were accomplished English actresses. Politics, pure and \> simple. Three British actresses and one Australian actress, actually. Interestingly, the presenter of the award made the same mistake. He said as he read the nominations that the nominees consisted of one American and four British actresses. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/29 "2005-01-16T20:57:24Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Best Supporting Actress, on the other hand, tends to go to a young actress who’s perceived as an up-and-coming star. Angelina Jolie is one such example. It also tends to go to an actress who has delivered a scene, just one scene, that sticks in voters’ minds when they’re in front of their ballots. Kim Basinger, for instance, is widely believed to have won her BSA Oscar for the scene in “LA Confidential” when Russell Crowe whacks her in the face. It’s 15 seconds of film, but the emotional impact was undeniable and it won her acclaim for the overall performance. I agree that Tomei’s win holds up, it’s not egregious like _Titanic_ as Best Picture. Had Miranda Richardson’s nom been for _The Crying Game_ we could argue, but none of the other nominated performances had either the “just one scene” thing going for them (in Tomei’s case it was either the “my biological clock is tickin’ like dis!” or the courtroom performance, take your pick) or the fact that without it, there wouldn’t have been crucial **support** for the film and its plot. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/30 "2005-01-16T22:11:56Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I haven’t seen the movie yet. Is that a spoiler? No. It’s established at the beginning of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Trailer\_Park\_Casanova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@Trailer\_Park\_Casanova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trailer_Park_Casanova)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/31 "2005-01-16T22:19:36Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Can anyone give a reasonable explanation for her win for as Best Supporting Actress for her role in _My Cousin Vinny_? I finally saw the movie yesterday afternoon and while I enjoyed it for what it was, I’m at a loss how it could have been nominated for any kind of award, let alone how it won one. I know the commitee gives Oscars for reasons other than their true purpose sometimes, like making up for a snub in a previous year or to give some form of token acknowledgement like Halle Berry’s win for _Monster’s Ball_ so maybe that was the case here as well? Or was it just a moment of collective stupidity? > > I _ **like** _ Tormei but there is no way in hell she deserved that statuette. Her performance played better on the big screen in an uncut version. On the TV, she seems much different. Somehow her part had lost it’s touch. Damfino why. I think she appeals much more to male viewers than female too. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/32 "2005-01-16T22:59:55Z")
I just don’t see the appeal of her role in this movie like everyone else does. It wasn’t a bad performance by any means and she definitely had a better performance than Pesci or Machio but that isn’t saying much. And for everyone saying that comedy is as valid an artform as drama, I agree. I never implied otherwise… I just don’t think comedy that elicits brief chuckles at best is all that deserving. > [@Equipoise](#): > > You must not watch many movies, if you’ve never heard of Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, or Judy Davis. (I’m assuming that Vanessa Redgrave is the one you have heard of). Having heard of someone isn’t the same thing as being familiar with them. I knew all the women’s names but that alone doesn’t tell me very much about them. What point does this have to Tomei’s Oscar win anyway? Not knowing their citizenship status doesn’t invalidate my opinion. > [@continuity eror](#): > > People win Oscars for middling movies all the time. Agreed. This one just seems especially egregious. > [@Trailer Park Casanova](#): > > I think she appeals much more to male viewers than female too. I’m a guy. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/33 "2005-01-17T00:55:37Z")
I liked the film myself and thought Marisa pulled off the character very well. It was tricky to first appear rather shallow, but then reveal a depth of specialist knowledge. She also has charisma! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/34 "2005-01-17T02:03:01Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > People win Oscars for middling movies all the time. Personally, I think Tomei’s Oscar was far more deserved than Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt’s duel win for As Good as it Gets, which IMO was total dreck. My Cousin Vinny was way better than that movie. Odd you should mention **As Good as it Gets** because Helen Hunt’s Oscar nod arguably benefitted from the same “vote American” factor that Tomei did since all of Hunt’s competitors that year (Judi Dench, Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Winslet, and Julie Christie) were British. > [@astorian](#): > > Best Supporting Actress, on the other hand, tends to go to a young actress who’s perceived as an up-and-coming star. Angelina Jolie is one such example. Since you mentioned that, I’m surprised no one’s brought up the urban legend about how a significant contingent of Academy voters selects who wins for Best Supporting Actress. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/35 "2005-01-17T02:43:32Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Three British actresses and one Australian actress, actually. Interestingly, the presenter of the award made the same mistake. He said as he read the nominations that the nominees consisted of one American and four British actresses. Actually, what he said was that it was the first time ever that none of the five nominees were American, because “four are English, and one is from Brooklyn.” A little jest. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/36 "2005-01-17T04:43:44Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > It also tends to go to an actress who has delivered a scene, just one scene, that sticks in voters’ minds when they’re in front of their ballots. Beatrice Straight certainly won an Oscar for just one scene…her whole performance in **Network** almost _was_ one scene. IIRC she was only in two scenes in the whole movie, the big one for which she must have won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and an earlier one in which she was just making breakfast or something. I think she still has the record for winning an acting Oscar with the smallest amount of screen time. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/37 "2005-01-17T06:15:49Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Beatrice Straight … I think she still has the record for winning an acting Oscar with the smallest amount of screen time. Shorter than Judi Dench’s role that won her BSA for in _Shakespeare in Love_? If you sneezed, you missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/38 "2005-01-17T06:28:52Z")
My Cousin Vinny was a great movie, and Tomei was great in it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/39 "2005-01-17T06:34:55Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Shorter than Judi Dench’s role that won her BSA for in _Shakespeare in Love_? If you sneezed, you missed it. I think she gets credit for that record, but I don’t know who times these things. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020/40 "2005-01-17T07:26:49Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’m going to agree, too. Tomei made that movie. I think Pesci did a good job and played to her well, but without Tomei that movie would have bombed. She deserved props for that. Fred Gwynne also was an intregral part in the hilarity of the movie. “Excuse me, did you say _youts_?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marisa-tomeis-oscar-for-my-cousin-vinny/285020.md?page=3)