Hello, I´m one of those annoying newbies who start new threads RIGHT the minute they joined...but I´ve been a reader for some time and I couldn´t resist. Forgive me, will you?

So, my topic.

I know that most of us love the Godfather for brilliant character development, memorable scenes of love, hate, betrayal and backroom meetings, and the portrayal of a fascinating family, but not in first place for the straight FUN of it.
But I hope you agree with me that there IS al lot of humour in both the book and the movie, that makes them even more enjoyable.
My question would be, which is your favourite funny bit, quote or event throughout the Godfather decades? Or maybe even things that are not meant to be funny, but somehow crack you up?

I´ll start: one of my favourite funny scenes from the movies is in GFII when Frankie tries to make the band on Mike´s posh party play a tarantella and they wind up with "Pop Goes The Weasel". On one hand it´s just fun to watch, for the actor is very enganging in that scene, on the other hand it´s very witty, for it serves the whole old school versus new ways thing.

Your would be...?

Welcome to the board. Good topic, and great choice. Frankie is a funny character all around. I like when Clemenza tells Michael, "tell that girl you love her with all a your heart." Just seemed out of character for him.

My fav- "Leave the gun...take the cannolis."

Also the Frankie/Pop Goes the Weasel is good too.

Welcome, and thanks for reminding everyone that humor is part of the GF Trilogy.
In addition to the scenes already cited, I liked how Sr. Roberto practically s*** himself in Vito's office while returning the money Vito gave him on behalf of Sra. Columbo. Probably the wittiest line: Sonny telling Tessio and Clemenza: "I don't want my brother comin' outta that toilet with just his dick in his hand."

Benvenutu Consigliera,

That scene that you are describing really is supposed to show you how far removed sicilian culture was at that time and how WASP-y Nevada was. I think Frankie states "a room full of musicians and not one italian amongst ya".

I love the scene where Santino makes a jest out of Michele's offer to kill Sollozzo and the police chief. "You come outta there and bam! shoot his brains out over your nice Ivy League Suit!" or something like this.

I believe instead of "bam," its the popular "badabing!"

Also funny is on the bonus DVD where they rearrange the words and add foreign ones (i.e. the Sonny/"bada-beep, bada-booop"). You can get to it via the options/languages/subtitles menu I believe. Click towards the right on your controller, and a globe should appear. Hit enter/play, and this video should appear.

(I'm sure its in the "DVD easter eggs" thread )

In a recent thread regarding GF3 shortcomings, I cited the lack of humor and humorous characters. GF had Clemenza (GF2, young Clemenza) and GF2 had Pentagelli. These characters had a sense of humor and a zest for life. Some of their moments:
1. Clemenza laughing when Mike says he'll "kill them both."
2. Clemenza joking with Mike about telling Kay he loves her.
3. Young Clemenza persuading Vito to take the rug as a gift.
4. Pentangelli - "pop goes the weasel."
5. Pentangelli at the senate committee.

PS. Welcome aboard Consig - enjoy the repartee

hello people, thanx for the warm welcome and your replies! you picked fine scenes!

...oh yeah, I forgot to mention that of course every Sonny part is sort of a fun part (except maybe the one where he´s shot... ...that´s not THAT funny maybe...), simply due to his character and the way Jimmy Caan acts it!

oh, and the scene where Luca Brasi dribbles while trying to congratulate the Don to Connie´s wedding is also a classic, especially if you keep in mind that Lenny Montana REALLY blew it over and over and they kept it like that.

hello people, thanx for the warm welcome and your replies! you picked fine scenes!

...oh yeah, I forgot to mention that of course every Sonny part is sort of a fun part (except maybe the one where he´s shot... ...that´s not THAT funny maybe...), simply due to his character and the way Jimmy Caan acts it!

oh, and the scene where Luca Brasi dribbles while trying to congratulate the Don to Connie´s wedding is also a classic, especially if you keep in mind that Lenny Montana REALLY blew it over and over and they kept it like that.

Vito to Johnny Fontaine: "You can act like a man...!"

Frankie Pentangeli: "They kept saying Michael Corleone did this, Michael Corleone did that, soI said Sure, shy not?"

Fredo and Mike: >"How do you say banana daquri?" <"Banana daquiri." >"That's right?" <"That's right."

"He was bangin' cocktail waitresses two at a time." That line cracks me up.

Also, when Willie goes, "yeah, buffas" in the Senate hearings. Great stuff.

There is all sorts of subtle humor, such as in I, when Michael explains to Kay how "Luca Brasi held a gun to his head and my father calmly explained that either his brains or his signature would appear on that piece of paper." The look Kay gives him back is priceless.

I love Clemenza dancing at the wedding like some kind of drunken Michael Flatley, and then guzzling down the entire bowl of wine.

Sandra Corleone impressing her friends by describing the size of Sonny's prodigious organ.

Even funnier than that is the 'edited' for tv version of this line, when Sonny is heard dubbing '...just a stick in his hand', instead of the original line.

Anyway...I'm in agreement with Turnbull on the Sengor Roberto scene in Vito's office. Even the intro music, cheerily played on clarinet...sets the tone for this be very comical highlight.

In The Godfather, I just love the way Tom laughs after beckoning Sonny to Vito's office...knowing full well he's banging somebody on the other side of that door. The reactions of Sonny & Lucy are pretty entertaining, too!!

Apple

Welcome to the Family Consigliera!
my choice is the same with MC14. . .
"You can act like a man!"- Don Vito to Johnny and
"sunday, monday, tuesday, thursday. . . "- Appolonia

GoodFella

I never understood what was so funny about that. Buffas? Am I missing some slang meaning of the word?

These are my favourites:

1)When Frankie, at the beginning of GF2 says "A kid comes up to me in a white jacket, gives me a Ritz cracker, and uh, chopped liver, he says Canapés. I say uh, uh, can o' peas my ass, that's a Ritz cracker and chopped liver! " That always makes me laugh. Can of peas.

2)When Geary says to Willy Cicci "Uh -- Mr. Cicci could you, uh -- amplify your answer a bit?" The way Cicci just says in his 'gangster' accent "Do what?".

3)In GF3 when Vincent says "Well you tell him from me that he can live or he can die!", and Mike just loses his temper and roars "Vincent will you SHUDDUP!"
Also the way Michael jumps when Vincent snaps "RIGHT??!" in the first Zasa scene.

Willi is somewhat amused at the Senator's use of the word 'buffer', to clarify his statement of never having been given orders by the Don himself.

I guess if you hear it from Cicci's point of view, it is pretty funny and his response (and the resulting laughter in the chambers) is completely justified and in character.

Apple

Oh I see. That is pretty funny now you mention it...
In GF1 I also love the part where Paulie at the wedding, after his envious murmours just cries "Sfortunato!" The way he rolls his eyes makes me laugh Also the way he calls that guy a "stupid jerk!"
It's also well funny the way Sonny just bites down on his knuckles upon seeing the beaten up Connie.

I have always seen humor in hypocrisy. The speech give by Senator Geary concerning Italian Americans, cracks me up everytime. You needed a snow shovel for the way he was putting out the BullS*** I swear by the time he was done, if the pope was there, he would have made Mike a saint.

Everyone mentioned all my favorites here and just to add, I thought Fannucci was somewhat of a comical character! When he passes the puppet show and says to himself "This is too violent for me"! Or when VIto goes to talk to him he says something like, "You gotta lot of balls". Not a knee slapper, but humorous just the same. The whole way he carried himself as he was at the street feast, as though, he thought himself the "king" of the neighborhood. I suppose he was in a sense.

TIS

HAHa you're right TIS!
That scene on the rooftops, there's this bit I really enjoy: As Vito is following Fanucci, there is a shot of Fanucci shoving through the crowd, and a cigar is protruding stiffly from between his teeth. I just laughed, he looked so pretentious, and seemed such an invulnerable bully boy, and he had no clue that this thin Sicilian peasant on the rooftop was going to blow his brains out. Just a funny shot. Look out for it!

That rooftop scene is one of my favorites as well! I suppose even in the beginning Vito thought things out carefully and planned to do this on the evening of the festival don't you?

I thought it very smart the way he disposed of the gun as well. Seems it would be pretty difficult if not impossible to ever find it. And the background musical score added just the right touch.

As a matter of fact I have said before that the Young Vito scenes are among my favorite. I guess because they seem so authentic and I think capture the "feel" of that era. (Not that I was around then mind you!!!)


TIS

I have always thought the rooftop stalking scene was the best and most artistic in all the films. Listen to the music as Vito stalks him, then does him in, then finally returns to his family......

Yes Johnny Ola,

Vito returning to his family and sitting on the steps telling Michael he loves him!!! Wow!!! What a contrast hu?

The thing is the guy is a murderer and yet, I think the film effectively showed that there's no doubt that he was a man who loved his family as well, showing two opposite sides of Vito.


TIS

I like a lot of the stuff. The stuff mentioned is great. One thing I really like is in GFIII at the opera when Vincent see one of the performers bite another performer on the ear and a smile comes to him as he remembers.

All good ones already mentioned I have to add, Connies wedding again, Clemenza dancing and he comes off the floor laughing and Paulie tells him he's a terrific dance. Clemenza gets mad and aks who he thinks is, the dancing judge? Go walk round the block and do your job.
Seems he never liked Paulie anyway

When the old man gets up to the Mike and sings at the wedding, it's just funny

FH

I always get a laugh when Connie tells Michael she wants to "book passage on the 'Queen'", and Michael replies: "Why come to me? Go see a travel agent."

Also, Fredo's little "two-step" when he opens the door to Michael's Vegas suite prior to the meeting with Moe Green.

Same scene, Moe's little bit of "Rodney Dangerfield" business with his collar and tie when Michael is talking about buying him out.

The scene on Hyman Roth's hotel room balcony in Havana, when Buschetta removes his hat, looks at the bird droppings on it, and then looks up at the sky. (I never realized exactly what had happened until it was pointed out by Turnbull in another thread).

The scene where a drunken Fredo is introduced to Kay by Michael is one of my favorites. Also, where a nervous Enzo is trying to light his cigarette outside the hospital is also amusing.

hi~! this is another newbie to the board ^_^.
my fav. scene is at the end of gfII when they prepared a surprise party for vito. the expression on sonny's face is priceless when mike goes "i did. i enlisted in the marines this morning". that was gold! also the part where his daughter just went giggling and called out, mommy, daddy's fighting again!
i couldn't stop laughing all through this scene...

Probably not meant to be funny, but I always love the way Clemenza says: "Pauli, you won't be seeing him no more." I just laugh at the way he says it.

Mick

I love Fredo!! He is so funny! Great thread idea, btw. Some Fredo funnies:

"How do you say banana daquiri?"
"Mama used to say I was left on the doorstep by gypsies. Sometimes I think it's true."

there are more Fredo funnies but I can't think of them right now....

Also in Part I when Sonny gets that fish and asks what is this - makes me laugh.

Kay makes me laugh in Part I at the beginning because she seems so dingy and ditzy.

Actually a lot of it could be seen as humorous, and I think that's why there have been so many parodies of the Godfather in TV shows, etc....

hi FH paisan!
you're right about the Old Man. when i first saw that scene i smile then laugh. i thought the Old man will be out of air and won't finished the song.

GoodFella