And the countdown continues in my quest to watch and find something inspiring in every single one of Yahoo’s 100 Movies to See Before You Die.
Henry Hill: For us to live any other way was nuts. Uh, to us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks and took the subway to work every day, and worried about their bills, were dead. I mean they were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something we just took it.
So Scorsese took the usual suspects — De Niro, Pesci — and made the usual mob movie. OK, it’s not the usual mob movie. It’s rewatchable. Most mob movies I watch once and I’m good. But this one I’ve seen at least four times. Essentially you have three friends working up the ranks of the mafia, and only one has a chance of becoming a made man because the other two “have Irish blood.” Hilarity (thanks to Ray Liotta’s deadpan narration) and tragedy ensue. My favorite scene is when the mafiosos are making a gourmet meal in prison, and the big boss is painstakingly slicing the garlic with a razor blade. Precision, even with the wrong instruments. Inspiring.
Linda Barrett: Did you hear that surfer guy pulled a knife on Mr. Hand?Stacy Hamilton: No he didn’t. He just called him a dick.Linda Barrett: People exaggerate so much around here.
Speaking of rewatchable. I have no idea how many times I’ve seen this movie. Most of them were with my friend Shelly in high school. We would quote it to each other. “I can fix it.” “No shirt, no shoes, no dice!” Most of these are Spicoli quotes. It was Sean Penn’s finest work, in my humble opinion. But the best piece of advice comes from the lamest dude in the movie, Damone. He says, “Act like wherever you are, that’s the place to be.” We should all live by this philosophy. Imagine. You’re at the laundromat. It’s the place to be! You’re stuck at the DMV. That’s the place to be! Anyway, if you haven’t seen this movie, get on it. It’s a teen movie unlike any they make today. Poignant, funny, true to life, dirty yet innocent.
