Just as many women don’t get the Three Stooges.
But I will not limit my criticism here to women! Most men do get the Three Stooges. But they fail to recognize that the greatest Stooge of all was Shemp.
Posted on 03/25/2025 3:05:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
pls don't put the mafia on to me
It's highly impossible to exist in the American cultural landscape and not have at least heard a passing reference to The Godfather. For me, that reference came while watching You've Got Mail, which is, funnily, the most antithetical you could get in terms of genre. For a year, all I could remember was Tom Hanks' character imploring Meg Ryan's to "Go to the mattresses!" and thinking, what?!
In the name of research, I forced my friend to watch The Godfather with me. Despite the fact that it has a glowing Rotten Tomatoes score of 97 percent, is Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus and cemented the Coppola family as a Hollywood dynasty, I have to say...I didn't love it.
TBH, I Was Just Here for Marlon Brando
The TL;DR of The Godfather for anyone still living under a rock: The film follows the Corleone family, helmed by patriarch Vito (Brando), as they come under threat by a rival crime family after Vito, styled Don Corleone, refuses to invest in a narcotics business. At the center of the drama is Don Corelone's son, Michael, who at first rejects the "family business" but soon becomes more enmeshed than he'd ever planned.
As an admirer of the Golden Age of Hollywood, I'll readily admit that my main curiosity (aside from understanding the You've Got Mail reference) was Brando. I couldn't be a self-professed lover of 20th-century cinema if I'd never seen him in a movie, right? The Godfather was a good introduction to the legendary actor, who played Don Corleone with a bewildering dichotomy between the cold and senseless mob boss and doting father and patriarch. Oh, and discovering what Al Pacino looked like in the '70s? Priceless.
This Is the Epitome of Toxic Masculinity
I'll admit that I'm often the first to roll my eyes and say, ugh, men. But, I do pity them—we live in a society where sometimes, it feels politically incorrect to be a dude. Despite their foibles, they do have many good qualities. Unfortunately, they're perpetually in the shadow of toxic masculinity. And for that alone, I'm risking my life to drag The Godfather through the mud.
My friend and I had high expectations for the nearly three-hour film. For something that was demanding the time that amounted to almost half a workday, I expected new revelations into the male psyche. Instead, my main takeaway was kill people who piss you off. Also, avenge the family honor at all costs! Sadly, these things were not new ideas.
Even if you think Coppola's film is the greatest movie of all time, I think we can agree that it employs senseless violence. Machine-gunning someone in front of the camera for almost 30 seconds feels gratuitous—ten seconds would have sufficed. Practically speaking, it's impossible to stay standing after being hit by bullets for even three seconds, I'd surmise. (Not speaking from experience.)
All the Women Are Written Off
My main beef here is the way Michael dotes on his girlfriend, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton), only to remorselessly MARRY ANOTHER WOMAN when he flees New York to Italy.
This Italian wife's only credit is that she's beautiful. This girl manages to be captivating without uttering a single word...and she remains silent for the duration of their relationship until she is killed, brutally. And what does Michael do then? Finally return home to New York to hit up the girlfriend whom he ghosted.
I'm not saying that the problem was depicting these situations—among many others. As a writer myself, I do believe that the purpose of art is to allow us to explore all the touch points of the human condition—including the ugliness. My qualm here is that every single woman in this film lacks agency. They are literally extras in this film—even Kay Adams, who has more lines than most. You could argue that "this was just the time period and the culture," but please. Women have always wanted more, even if they weren't able to get it. (See the works of Jane Austen for many examples.) Depicting them all as meek and powerless is to write them off completely.
Objectively Good Art, But I Can't
I think that art can be objectively good and that you can also still hate it. That's The Godfather for me. After 175 minutes, I can't say I was any more enlightened to the male brain than I had been previously. If anything, it only reinforced my perceptions. In one aspect, I supposed I did glean something. Tom Hanks was right. Ladies, if someone is giving you trouble, you have to go to the mattresses. Who's the Godfather now?
Agree. It is such a dumb analysis.
My wife loved both Godfather movies...
The Two Jake’s wasn’t so good.
Late 60s too.
Great Escape
Mary Poppins
Sound of Music
Bonnie and Clyde
Planet of the Apes
Butch Cassidy
The Sting
Chinatown
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
American Graffiti
Paper Moon
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
That’s just off the top of my head.
I watch a movie purely for entertainment...I do not try to interpret and analyze the film....
My wife doesn’t mind them but not her favorites.
Probably because I watch it still sometimes.
She thinks Die Hard is better! LOL
Give me a Frickin' break........Sheesh!
I forgot Cool Hand Luke
Planet of the Apes was 68 i think.
Heston was great.
I read the novel after seeing it. Totally different.
Bonnie and Clyde were 60s too. Wow, what a movie. Super cast.
Gene Wilder was good.
Just as many women don’t get the Three Stooges.
But I will not limit my criticism here to women! Most men do get the Three Stooges. But they fail to recognize that the greatest Stooge of all was Shemp.
I still have that on my DVR.
“ The Two Jake’s wasn’t so good.”
No, it wasn’t.
Waited 16 years and it wasn’t very good at all.
That is your privilege.
Yes, it is....
Durn it. Now you’ve done it.
Fine.
I’ll make a point of watching it during my vacation this week and reply back here. Call it ‘research’.
(subtext: I’m Italian. I have no desire to watch such movies, but I did thoroughly enjoy The Sopranos, mostly due to James Gandolfini).
Meh. I was excited to see that movies, but was disappointed? Eating eggs? Give me a break. The two Harper films were better Newman movies to me.
I agree.
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