Goodfellas Characters & Their Godfather Counterparts
Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas will turn 32 in a few months' time, and even though it's been over three decades since it premiered, the legendary director's piece de resistance still beats out most of the recent gangster movies in terms of quality. Ingredients that make the movie unforgettable include its humorous dialogue, pace, and, most importantly, the characters.
Since the characters are based on actual mobsters and their families, they give the viewer a more accurate picture of what life in the Cosa Nostra was actually like. But, as realistic as they are, a couple of parallels can be spotted between them and the fictional characters in Francis Ford Copolla's The Godfather trilogy.
As soon as he gets paroled, the Gambino crime family member, Billy Batts, starts antagonizing younger gangsters, with Tommy DeVito being his preferred newbie to pick on. This behavior gets him killed. Hell's Kitchen's padrone, Don Fanucci, also behaves the same way towards a young Vito Corleone, causing the protagonist to shoot him dead.
A combination of experience and power makes both Batts and Fanucci believe they are untouchable. Logically, they should be, but the men they happen to offend are upcoming gangsters that have unrivaled guts. Vito's murder of Don Fanucci is undoubtedly one of the best kills in The Godfather but Batts's demise is equally gruesome.
Both Lucchese crime family caporegime, Paulie, and Corleone crime family Don, Vito Corleone, control all criminal dealings in their territories. Both have a knack for solving problems and giving advice too. Additionally, they insist on traditional values being upheld.
The two mob bosses impress by commanding respect from all those around them without having to act in an aggressive or ruthless manner. They have an eye for talent too, and in the same manner that Paulie sees potential in Henry Hill, Vito also singles out Michael as his most worthy successor and goes on to mentor him before his death.
Karen Hill and Kay Adams are symbols of marital conflict. Initially, they are very happy with their husbands, but they soon experience things for how they really are as the wife of a violent crime syndicate leader and take extreme measures to free themselves.
Of the two, Karen is more of the stereotypical mob wife. She is simply happy to sit back and enjoy the perks. Sadly, with the perks comes the mistreatment. Kay is more self-aware and educated and never pictured herself being a mob wife when she was y0unger. Nonetheless, that's the position she finds herself in, and given how powerful her husband is, divorce ends up being a major challenge.
Both Tommy and Sonny are hotheaded gangsters. Most importantly, they are tricked into going to their locations of execution. Tommy gets whacked after being lied to that he's going to get "made," while Carlo intentionally angers Sonny so that he gets to drive through one of The Godfather's best locations, the Jones Beach Causeway. There, he gets gunned down.
Though the two are very similar, Sonny is the more likable of the two since he is generally well-mannered. One can never picture him refusing to pay restaurant bills like Tommy or shooting a servant for no reason. Of the two deaths, Sonny's demise is more painful since he would have made a great boss.
Henry breaks traditions by rising up the ranks of the Lucchese crime family and occupying positions that were traditionally reserved for individuals of Sicilian heritage. Michael also leaves the army and quickly becomes the Don, yet such a position normally gets to be occupied by people that have risen up the ranks.
As main characters, Henry and Michael have their flaws, but they shine by being more ambitious than their counterparts. From a young age, Henry spots a path to quick riches and takes it. Michael also sees an easy way to endear himself to his father and that's by whacking the men that tried to kill him. Their stories are made better by the fact that there is no happy ending. Henry is forced to spend the rest of his life in witness protection, while Michael dies a sad man after witnessing the death of his daughter.
Sonny Bunz, the owner of the Bamboo Lounge, asks Paulie for help when Tommy refuses to pay back the $7,000 he owes. In a similar fashion, the undertaker, Bonasera asks Vito Corleone for help in getting justice against the men that assaulted his daughter.
It's worth noting that there is a quid pro quo element attached to the assistance that Bunz and Bonasera are given. Each of them lives knowing they'll have to return the favor someday, but in Bunz's case, it gets worse for him because he is eventually forced to give up control of his restaurant. Bonasera, on the other hand, only has to take good care of Sonny's body as a way of returning the favor.
To their respective bosses, Jimmy and Clemenza are the right-hand men who can do wrong. They are shown to be level-headed and proactive.
The two are perhaps the most equally matched characters between the two mob tales. It's impossible not to like either of them, given how gracefully they conduct themselves. Both not only have a firm understanding of mafia culture but also have engrossing dialogue scenes too, with some of Clemenza's best quotes in The Godfather being celebrated to this day.
Tommy's mother is shown to be extremely proud of her son. Tommy, on the other hand, is careful enough not to offend her. Michael Corleone's mother has the exact same mannerisms. Given how much he cares about not hurting her, Michael waits until she dies first before whacking Fredo.
In both instances, the huge difference in personality between mother and son comes off as baffling to audiences. Mama DeVito and Carmela are extremely good-hearted individuals who would never hurt a fly, whereas the sons don't think twice before committing or sanctioning violent acts.
Among Carbone's many reckless decisions is buying an expensive coat for his wife after the Lufthansa heist, something guaranteed to attract the authorities. In the Coppola movie, Fredo is foolhardy too, with most of his decisions bringing shame to the family.
Poor decision-making rarely goes unpunished in the mob hence both Carbone and Fredo pay by being terminated. It should be noted that Fredo's crime is a bigger one because he goes as far as to conspire with foes against his own family. Carbone commits no cardinal sin but like Fredo, he is so blinded by his thirst for the finer things in life.
Henry loves his mistress Janice more than his wife Karen because she is calm and understanding. He briefly moves in with her when his marriage goes calm. Appolonia is also reserved compared to Kay and it's suggested that Michael never stops loving her, even after reuniting with Kay.
In both tales, what's made abundantly clear is that Janice and Appolonia aren't necessarily better partners. What's evident is that powerful mobsters don't like having partners that stand up to them and call them out on their misdemeanors. Janice and Appolonia are okay with everything their partners do, while Karen and Kay are not.