With the exception of technical honors, there’s still probably no Academy Winner as surprising as Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. To be fair, Tomei’s performance is absolutely delightful  —  funny at times, forceful at others, and the perfect counter for Joe Pesci’s endless barrage of conversation  —  but movies like My Cousin Vinny don’t typically take home Academy Awards for anything, least of all performances. That award speaks to the soft spot everyone has in their heart for that film; it may not be the most prestigious work of either Tomei or Pesci's careers, but it’s a hard movie to say no to after a long day at the office.

And believe it or not, more than 25 years after its initial release, My Cousin Vinny has actually gotten a sequel in book form. As noted in Page Six (via Deadline), novelist Lawrence Kelter was recently able to acquire the rights from original screenwriter Dale Launer to bring the characters of Vinny Gambini and Mona Lisa Vito back to life on the page. According to Kelter, he randomly emailed Launer one day to praise him for his film, which inspired Launer to read one of Kelter’s novels. One thing led to another and Kelter found himself actively trying to convince Launer that he was the right man for the job. The book was published all the way back in May of this year, but the story is just making headlines now.

According to Kelter and the New York Post, the book takes place in Brooklyn, where Gambini and Vito return after the events of the original movie. Gambini is forced to take on another murder trial to keep his head above water, and  —  as the saying goes  —  comedy ensues. As if the book itself isn’t fun enough, there’s also a great item in the article about Ketler reaching out to the original cast in search of blurbs; Tomei didn’t answer, Pesci said he’s retired, and Ralph Macchio wrote back to say he loved it. Yep, that sounds about right.

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