*Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen My Cousin Vinny, GO WATCH IT. But if you have, you may also like to read Mental Floss's fun facts about the movie.
Recently, I was re-watching My Cousin Vinny for the 20th time, trying to figure out why it can still make me laugh. And the reason I came up with actually connected to another idea I've been pondering for some time—that running jokes (aka gags) can make or break a movie. And just so we're on the same page, I'm defining "running joke" as a line of dialogue or physical action that repeats at least three times during the movie.
So how does this apply to My Cousin Vinny? Well, for starters, pretty much every scene in the movie can be attributed to one of five running jokes—in no particular order, there's the loud noises that wake Vinny up early every morning, the judge hating Vinny's attire or attitude (and subsequently holding him in contempt), Vinny lying to the judge about his name, Vinny fighting with his fiancée Mona Lisa, and Vinny negotiating to fight a guy for $200. All under the umbrella of the New York/ Alabama culture clash, these situations envelope just about every minute of screen time once Vinny enters the plot, including scenes in the court room, the judge's chamber, various hotel rooms, and moving about in town. I will admit that some aren't running jokes, per se, as much as others, but the way in which these types of moments or relationships build on each other makes them count as such, at least for me.
Take the nighttime noises joke. What begins with an incredibly loud train whistle jerking Vinny awake in the early morning is replaced, the next morning, by squeals of pigs being slaughtered, then turns back into two straight days of a 5am train (though of course, she's supposed to come through at ten after 4:00). Each night, we come to expect a loud, piercing noise followed by Vinny lurching awake, more incredulous and annoyed than the night before; by the time he secures a remote hunting cabin to sleep in, we are not surprised that an amazingly loud owl screech drives him to fire a pistol wildly into the night...only to wind up sleeping in a field in his car, where a thunderstorm soon breaks out. These are relatively small events, at least in comparison to the courtroom plot, yet they add a pattern of humor to the film. Vinny's interrupted sleep is both a cause and effect of his inability to assimilate to the Alabama lifestyle, and is responsible for both adding to and acting as an outlet for Vinny's anxiety. This pattern is so entrenched within the larger plot, in fact, that the only time Vinny gets a full night of sleep (paradoxically choosing to spend the night in a jail cell) is after his first successful day in court. Even with prison alarms ringing throughout the night, all Vinny can do is smile.
And Vinny's lack of sleep isn't the only running joke to connect with the plot at large. Vinny's three dealings with the local guy who stiffed Mona Lisa for $200 further build on his laughable lack of legal experience (when he talks about his personal injury specialty), his general cleverness (figuring out that the guy had wrapped a $20 around a bunch of $1s), and his growing frustration (when he finally KOs the guy with one punch). This cleverness and ability to stay one step ahead of trouble are also on display when Vinny thrice explains (read: lies about) his legal name, stage name, and name pronunciation/spelling to Judge Chamberlain. Even his riotously funny and word-specific quarrels with Mona Lisa act to reveal Vinny's affinity for arguing, which translates perfectly into his masterful courtroom cross examinations. As for Vinny's altercations with the judge, well, those go to strengthen pretty much all of the elements above, as well as being just plain funny.
The absolute funniest scene in film history (if you ask me).
And of course, this is the most important part of running jokes—that they're funny. There's no point repeating a joke if no one laughs the first time, and if you're really doing it right, each iteration is even funnier than the last. I find each and every one of the running jokes in My Cousin Vinny to be laugh-out-loud funny, and I can appreciate how these jokes are woven together to tell a Bildungsroman-esque story about a man becoming more confident and less self-absorbed, a whodunit crime thriller, and a fish-out-of-water comedy, all rolled into one. So I suppose, in writing this now, that it's no surprise this is my favorite movie, one that I can return to time and time again and still have fun.
But if you're not into early '90s courtroom comedies with Joe Pesci (for some reason), you're in luck. There are many modern movies, of various genres, that appeal to me for this same running-joke reason. One of these is 2016's Deadpool, which, like My Cousin Vinny, is essentially made up of nonstop running jokes (and features similar fun, foul-mouthed romantic quarrels). This R-rated action/comedy has it all, from a blind roommate to unpaid taxi fees to many a double entendre. Perhaps the biggest running joke is the merc-with-a-mouth himself, what with his unremitting inappropriate humor (plus pop culture references and fourth wall breaks) adding a certain levity to nearly every minute. Naturally, this defense mechanism connects with the central tension of the movie—Deadpool's overly candid opinions and observations of the outside world versus his inability to be honest and sincere with himself and his true love. What is Deadpool, after all, but a quest for self-acceptance? A really funny movie, that's what. (That being said, the repetition of Francis's "what's my name" catch phrase got to be a bit much for me).
And if foul language and gratuitous violence aren't your preference, let's go to the other end of the spectrum with a film from the same year—Moana. Now, the only running jokes in this film that fit my three-time definition above are Maui throwing Moana off the boat, Heihei failing to eat food (or generally being stupid), and Maui's tiny tattoo self reacting to elements of the plot. And given my make-it-or-break-it ultimatum above, I would have to say that if these series of events didn't make you laugh, you probably didn't like the rest of the movie. But here I'm going to apply the My Cousin Vinny tweak to the rules—not because I don't think those moments are funny, but because I prefer to consider this film's running jokes in a broader sense. Instead of grouping moments that repeat the same phrase or action, this movie encourages viewers to group moments that develop certain major themes, like 1) Moana's connection to the ocean or 2) Maui's growing empathy. My favorite moments in Moana come from the role-reversing "you're so amazing" whisper-cheers (theme #2) and the movie's self-aware moments, like Moana's "um...what?!" rant at the ocean for not helping her during a storm at sea (theme #1); naturally, I also appreciated Disney's inside joke of "if you wear and dress and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess." In any case, like My Cousin Vinny, Moana's running jokes are funnier because they interact with the plot and its major themes. Much of the comedy in Moana relates to its protagonist's courage or determination, and most of the running jokes (no matter how you define them) relate to developing or revealing those qualities.
But neither is this family-friendly crowd-pleaser appealing to all. Like any comedy, the laugh factor depends on what the individual audience member finds funny. My mother, for instance, found the rooster to be inane and both the coconut pirates and shiny crab sequences to be distinctly unamusing. She didn't care for Moana, though she did defy my expectations by liking Deadpool (I'm pretty sure she didn't get half the jokes). I, meanwhile, adored both of these films. Point being, "funny" is in the eye of the beholder. Filmmakers who insist a particular phrase or action is funny, when it isn't, just makes things ten times worse.
As an example of a time when a running joke "broke" a movie for me, I would point to Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. While this movie doesn't have comedy at its core, like the other movies discussed here, one particular comedic element contributed to my disdain for the movie—the running joke spearing from Captain America telling his team to watch their language. Now, I found this intensely unfunny the first time it happened, in the opening action sequence. To my (and Captain America's) chagrin, this "watch your language" joke makes its way into three more scenes, culminating in Cap finally letting off a curse word of his own. Though I had many other quandaries with the film (too wide of scope being one), this minimally-intrusive running joke had a nails-in-the-coffin effect on me. I didn't like the joke, and I really didn't like that it kept being forced on me. When Captain America mutters, "That's not going away any time soon" after the first iteration, I sincerely hoped he was wrong. Instead, this form of teammate-teasing just distanced me further and further from the characters and the plot. (I've heard similar rationales given for those who weren't fans of 2016's Ghostbusters. The body comedy, the cameos, the jokes about the wonton-soup ratio—they turned a lot of people off. Personally, I was far more bothered by the forced laughter and "Taserface" jokes in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.) I know that many people loved this 1950's-puritanical-hero running joke (just as many loved Lady Ghostbusters and Guardians), as evidenced by the existence of the clip above. They're not wrong to do so. Just as I cannot be blamed for laughing at My Cousin Vinny scenes I've viewed many times before.
Running jokes in movies are like inside jokes between friends, in that they only make sense within a particular group that has shared an experience, a group that knows that each reference of said joke will only make it funnier. Fortunately, inside jokes don't have the power to make or break friendships as much as running jokes can do to movies. I'm just suggesting that you pay a little more attention to these joke patterns in your favorite comedies, the ones that never fail to make you laugh. I'll also suggest, one last time, that you start with My Cousin Vinny.
*Of course, such running jokes absolutely exist within TV shows—from HIMYM's "Legen-wait-for-it-dary" and Big Bang Theory's "Bazinga" catch phrases to P&R's "Treat yo' self" montages and Community's ongoing monkey thievery–but they blend in more with the years-long stories and characters, and contribute to world-building for an entirely different timeline, medium, and purpose.
*Bonus gifs! Two more movies that will never get old:
