Jimmy was the kind of guy who rooted for the bad guys in the movies

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2007)

Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" is an amazing film that looks at life in the Mafia. It tells the true story of Henry Hill, a former mobster, who is still alive to this day; it also relates the story of his friends and associates who he spends a great deal of time with in the film. Henry's (Ray Liotta) grandest dream as a young boy is to someday become a gangster. As he says, "being a gangster was better than being president of the United States." He grows up in a neighborhood full of them, and even gets a job at the cabstand which gains him respect among his peers. (During all of this, his parents become aware of his interaction with the other mobsters, and his dad cruelly beats him.) He continues to work and become more familiar with the neighborhood, including Paulie (Paul Sorvino) who he becomes very close to later on. Eventually, he is introduced to Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) who he begins working for soon selling cigarettes. From here, he first meets Tommy DeVito, who he will also become extremely close with later on along with Paulie. Unfortunately for Henry, he is caught selling one day and is immediately arrested. Luckily, Henry is smart enough to not reveal anything, and he is acquitted of the charges. Later on, the story moves into Henry's adult life where he continues robbing the airport and other places with his close friend Tommy (Joe Pesci). We learn more about Tommy from this point. What we learn more than anything else is how insane he is. He is obviously a complete psycho, and at his worst he kills people just for kicks. Over time, Henry begins dating Karen (Lorraine Bracco) who, while she seems close to him, is infuriated when one day he decides not to show up for a date. She stands him up, and this is when the connection between the two of them is soon about more than just a date.
Over time, Henry marries Karen and they have two daughters. Henry's work starts getting more serious, and occasionally they have fights which result in Karen almost killing him. Tragically, Henry and his friends' killings go over the line and result in ***SPOILERS!!!*** Tommy's death.***END SPOILERS!!!*** Henry becomes a cocaine dealer and addict (despite Paulie's warning that if he messes around with it too much he'll disregard him forever) and earns a fortune from it. But, what he and Karen don't realize is that narcs are fully aware of his actions, and they arrest him one day. When they arrive on the scene, Karen, in panic, thinks that they are actual cops and flushes all of Henry's cocaine down the toilet (all of which is worth about $60,000). In the end, Henry has to become "an average nobody just like everybody else," as he puts it. To conclude, "Goodfellas" is an absolute masterpiece. Martin Scorsese directs it with a master's touch, and the 145 minute running time truly flies by. The performances are fantastic (the best being from Pesci) in addition to the writing and editing.