My Cousin Vinny

May 25, 2013
I don't have a Cousin Vinny. "My Cousin Vinny" is the name of a 1992 movie starring Joe Pesci as an untested Brooklyn attorney who travels to fictitious Beechum County, Alabama with his fiancee (Marisa Tomei) to defend his young cousin and his college buddy wrongfully charged with murder while on a road trip through The Deep South. The store clerk of the "Sac-O-Suds" convenience store was found shot and killed moments after the two boys stopped there.

The culture clash between Vinny and the southern legal system generates the laughter in this comedy that wasn't filmed in Alabama at all but in and around Monticello, Georgia, which was right along my northern path fifty or so miles east of Atlanta. 

I spent an afternoon roaming the countryside between Madison, Eatonton, Monticello, and the smaller towns of Mansfield, and Bostwick, taking photos of the filming locations I'd read about. Included below are a trailer and clip from the movie, followed by my video of the day's ride, which includes the ending credits song from the movie describing Vinny's "on hold relationship" with his fiancee, Lisa.

Movie Trailer

This 6-Minute video shows the ride between the small towns of 

Eatonton, Monticello, Mansfield and Bostwick where the below pictures were taken.

The General Putnam Motel outside Eatonton is where 
Vinny and his girlfriend, Lisa, spent their first night and 
were awakened by an incredibly loud steam whistle.

The Cafe Where Vinny Saw His First "Grit"

Monticello, Georgia's town square is where the shot was taken of Vinny and Lisa arriving
 in town and discover they don't blend with the locals. And they have mud in their tires.

The exterior of the courthouse shown in the movie is the actual courthouse
 in Monticello, seat of Jasper County, Georgia. And since it is an operating courthouse,
 the interior scenes in the movie were shot on a movie set at a location closer to Atlanta, 50 miles west.

Jasper County Courthouse in Monticello, Georgia

An actual convenience store / gas station when the movie was filmed, 
this building was the "Sac-o-Suds" in the movie and his located 9 miles west of Monticello.

This building in Mansfield, Georgia was used for the exterior 
shot of the pool hall where Lisa lost her money.

Vinny goes into the pool hall to retrieve Lisa's money and is challenged by a redneck.

The historic Susie Agnes Hotel in Bostwick, Georgia was the Parker Hotel 
in the scene of Vinny standing on the balcony, having been awakened 
by squealing pigs at a slaughter house across the street.

My Cousin Vinny Filming Locations

194 Miles