The Godfather Trilogy

[Baby Fish Mouth]

Connie's husband screwed around, and I'm sure Fredo did too.

[india7]

babyfishmouth said:

Connie's husband screwed around, and I'm sure Fredo did too.

Right, I remember Connie's husband screwing around - remember, that's how Sonny got killed, he was on his way over to kick Carlo's ass (sorry, I shoulda clarified - I only meant the Corleone's themselves, not the inlaws!). But I don't remember Fredo screwing around... I could always be wrong, though!

[Deleted]

I don't know about Part I but in Part II Fredo was definately one for the ladies. Was Fredo still with the blonde wife who embarassed him at the sisters wedding in front of everyone in Part I by the time we get to Part II. Don't remember thinking he was married in Part II.

[thesurlymermaid]

flipper said:

I don't know about Part I but in Part II Fredo was definately one for the ladies. Was Fredo still with the blonde wife who embarassed him at the sisters wedding in front of everyone in Part I by the time we get to Part II. Don't remember thinking he was married in Part II.

The crazy blond woman was in part two, not part 1. I don't think Fredo was married in part 1...he was just a ladies man. Moe Green told Michael he was screwing cocktail waitresses two at a time.

[Deleted]

I would definitely think Fredo screwed around: he had a history of that and also was alone in Cuba going to things like that sex show, and obviously didn't seem happy with crazy blondie.

I would be surprised if Michael cheated on Kay, but not because of emotion, simply because Michael would see that as a stupid move. Why make himself vulnerable by banging some random chick? He probably perceived Sonny and Fredo's behavior with women as evidence of their weak character.

[zivvie]

Michael also didn't drink much, same as Don Vito.

[Deleted]

but in the movies, wasn't Sonny the only one screwing around?

They had to do something to get some young blood into the story line. Fredo didn't have any kids, Sonny was one of the flashiest characters from the original movie. Since Sonny was killed, it was a quick fix to have an illegitimate son brought into the story and also gave the opportunity to have Michael pass the mantle of being the Don to someone younger.

Part III definitely had it's problems, but I thought Andy Garcia was damn hot and did a good job. I don't know if there was any issue with Garcia playing an Italian, but then again James Caan is Jewish.

Pacino was way over board with the yelling, see also (Devil's Advocate, Heat, Carlito's Way etc)

If Part III had just been a stand alone gangster movie, not attached to the franchise, it would be judged differently.

[india7]

roseprose said:

but in the movies, wasn't Sonny the only one screwing around?

Since Sonny was killed, it was a quick fix to have an illegitimate son brought into the story and also gave the opportunity to have Michael pass the mantle of being the Don to someone younger.

Part III definitely had it's problems, but I thought Andy Garcia was damn hot and did a good job.

Okay, I'm so glad you bumped this thread, because I've been thinking about it. I saw GFIII for the first time over the weekend, and can I just tell you how much I hated that plotline? I mean, why not just have one of the other kids go bad so that Michael could pass the mantle down? I'm not saying that Andy Garcia didn't do a great job - my beef is with the character existing at all. Especially since, in the book, they do touch upon what happens later on in Lucy Mancini's life, how a year after Sonny's murder, she still grieved for him, etc.. and no where is Sonny Corleone's illegitimate kid mentioned. I just hate when liberties are taken like that, you know? It's like on a soap opera where they just write in some bullshit character like an Evil Twin in order to take the story wherever they want to go with no continuity.

Michael's son being an opera singer wasn't even an interesting plot line - why not have him go bad? Why not one of Connie's kids? This out of the blue illegitimate kid of Sonny's, mentioned neither in GF I or II, nor in the books, just irritated the hell out of me (as you can tell).

[Baby Fish Mouth]

Acutally I kind of like it that Sonny's illegitimate son is the only one who wants the family reins. By this time, the Corleone family is a shadow of what it once was, and the fact that most of the third generation kids have gone off to do their own thing reflects that.

But Sonny did have a couple legitimate kids, right?

[india7]

babyfishmouth said:

Acutally I kind of like it that Sonny's illegitimate son is the only one who wants the family reins. By this time, the Corleone family is a shadow of what it once was, and the fact that most of the third generation kids have gone off to do their own thing reflects that.

But Sonny did have a couple legitimate kids, right?

Yes, he and his wife had a couple of kids. And there again, that wouldn't bother me, that an offspring of Sonny's wanted to revive the family business. What bothered me wasn't even that he was illegitimate - it's the continuity. It's that he never existed before anywhere - like, "Oh, yeah - remember how Sonny and Lucy just screwed around in the first book, and we revisit Lucy later on? And when we revisit her, she never had a kid? Yeah, well, here's a kid we never mentioned after two wildly popular books and movies. AND the whole third movie is going to revolve around him." I mean - oy!