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?
Which also starred Gene Hackman. RIP.
Agree the reviewer is retarded. Lots of great great movies from then.
Who wants to name the top five worst from 1967-1977?
Let me start:
Little Big Man
Most people in her generation have been encouraged to voice their opinions well before they had anything intelligent to say.
That’s not true. I found that I enjoyed it.
Okay, most women. Never met one that dud or thought it was just okay.
It’s okay for Marissa Wu, or anyone, to not care for even a great film. After reading her first sentence and puzzling over how something can be “highly” impossible instead of just plain “impossible” I’d already concluded she’s more than a few grains short of a full bowl of rice.
EXACTLY. I didn’t see The Godfather until I was 30. Eventually became appreciative of the script/direction/nuances in my mid-30s. Godfather and 2 are now solidified in my DVR. It’s difficult to explain. I have since bought/read the book AND bought the book for family members who asked about it. (There is no “real” such thing as Godfather 3)
Wife’s maiden name ends in “O”... Tell the kids whenever I see The Godfather movie mention - “Mom’s home movies!”
She does like GF & GFII.....
Hubby loves it, and I’m like the young woman you loaned it to. I never got it.
I love sports, though. We watch sports very often. Almost every day.
My wife will watch Die Hard every day. And 2 and 3 and 4. 5 sucks.
She thought The Godfatger was just okay. But we once visited the Mafia Museum in Vegas. She wanted to watch it again after learning so much of the movie is based on reality.
Her reaction is exactly what I’d expect from a young, west coast, Asian woman. How would she ever be able to get something out of it except toxic masculinity? Besides being a guy, it helps if you grew up in the New York metropolitan area during the 50’s and/or 60’s where mobsters were real and their culture familiar to most people even if they’d never even met a real life Wiseguy. My wife grew up in Hudson County (right across the river from Manhattan) in a culture much like that of Brooklyn. Although the violence of “mob movies” is repugnant to her, the cultural references to that time and place are, for her, the real entertainment in movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas and Casino.
Go down to post 68. Idk about other women but I can tell you I *eventually* raised my girls right. 😬.
I don’t care for Die Hard much. It’s just ok. Maybe she likes to watch Bruce Willis when he was in his prime?
My theory regarding the Three Stooges: Women focus on the physical interactions (the slapping, etc.). And they are put off by it.
Men can see past the physical interactions. We can also see the humor of the situation, and the humor of the dialog.
It’s a shame that Musk and his DOGE team are roaming the DC area. Because if it weren’t for them, I could probably get a federal grant to study the Stooges from a gender point of view.
She’s nuts.
Don’t forget the other great Faye Dunaway movie, “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
I don’t care what anyone says. Vito’s mom was bad ass.
I wouldn't call The Godfather the greatest movie of all time. But it's a movie that tells a story about a crime family. So, of course, it features violence.
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