Overrated, but still a good watch

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2010)

Such is the reputation of Goodfellas, that when I finally set about watching it a few months ago, I was sure of an unforgettable movie experience.
But I was bitterly disappointed. While by no means a bad movie, Goodfellas never touched the heights of The Godfather and The departed, two other movies about 'wiseguys'.
Goodfellas is a true story about Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), who, since childhood was charmed by gangsters. He set about doing odd jobs for the mob as kid, and after being arrested ones and not ratting out, he earns the mob's respect. He then starts to enter the big time, befriending by Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci)
The movie never really took off for me, and never had me sucked into it, as I would expect all so-called classics to.Despite that, there are a few seminal scenes in it. The 'you're funny' scene is one of them, which probably was the main reason for Joe Pesci's Oscar as best supporting actor.
Credit has to be given to Scorese though, for sticking true to Henry Hill's story and not overtly dramatizing it.
The three central characters are in good form. Liotta does a great job of portraying the level-headed (compared to Conway and Tommy) gangster, while DeNiro's charisma is there for all to see as the flamboyant Jimmy Conway. However, Pesci is the star of the show, delivering a top performance as the hare-brained, hot tempered gangster Tommy DeVito.
While for me it wasn't good enough to be considered a classic, it's good enough to warrant a watch.
7/10