Adapted from the non-fiction novel Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas chronicles the rise and fall of mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). The movie is populated with intriguing characters such as Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) but Henry's wife Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco) stands out in a lot of ways.
Through Karen's words, viewers get a clear perspective of the mob life. She acts as the film's second narrator and provides plenty of laughs and shocks along the way. She is a phenomenal character, as critics have acknowledged. For her portrayal of the character, Bracco received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
"All Of Them Were Named Peter Or Paul... And They Were All Married To Girls Named Marie."
During her wedding to mobster Henry Hill, Karen is introduced to all the relatives and as per her confession in a voiceover, there is hardly a variety of names at the ceremony. Apparently, every man either goes by the name Peter or Paul (Paulie). And all the women have no other name than Marie.
A similar scenario is seen in The Sopranos, in which a couple of characters share names. Tony Soprano and his cousin Tony Blundetto are referred to as Tony A and Tony B by those who know them both.
"There Are Women Who Would Have Left The Minute Their Boyfriend Gave Them A Gun To Hide. But I Didn't."
Early in their relationship. Henry surprises Karen by brutally assaulting a man who had disrespected her. He uses the handle of a gun to beat up the man before handing over the weapon to Karen to hide it.
In a voiceover, Karen admits that such a thing wasn't normal and it could have scared many women off, including many of her friends. But she was different. What Henry did made her attracted to him even more.
"They Don't Feel Like You're In Construction."
Henry proves just influential he is while taking Karen out for the first time. Instead of waiting in line at the Copacabana, he takes her to the back door and walks in through the kitchen. A table is then brought to them near the stage.
As they are enjoying their drinks, a curious Karen asks Henry what he really does for a living. He lies to her he is in construction. To verify his claims, she takes his hands and feels them. She comes up with the conclusion that his hands don't feel hard enough for someone in construction. He again lies that he is one of the bosses, not the laborers.
"Rossi! Janice Rossi, Do You Hear Me? He's My Husband! Get Your Own Man!"
Movies and TV shows about the mafia have show that it's a common thing for mobsters to have "goomahs" "comares" — mistresses. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. In Goodfellas, Henry Hill cheats on Karen with a woman named Janice Rossi. When Karen finds out, she heads over to Janice's apartment to give her a piece of her mind.
Through the intercom, she orders Janice to open the door so that they can "talk." Janice refuses, so Karen begins yelling. She tells Janice that she is going to wait there and tell everyone who walks into the building that there is a "husband-snatcher" living in Apartment 2R.
"Who The Hell Do You Think You Are? Frankie Valli Or Some Kinda Bigshot?
Karen isn't too happy when Henry stands her up on their second date. She gets even angrier when he shows up the next night and pretends like it wasn't a big deal.
Well, Karen isn't having it. She tells Henry that he needs to dial down on his sense of self-importance. He is not Frankie Valli, after all. Valli was the frontman of the popular Four Seasons rock band.
"When Henry Picked Me Up, I Was Dizzy."
The very first time Karen has to hang out with the rest of the mob wives at Mickey's hostess party, she doesn't like it. According to her, it was a very dizzying experience for her.
The mob wives talked about nothing else but their kids and how they always beat them with broom handles and leather belts for messing up. Karen also takes a shot at their poor sense of fashion, claiming they applied too much makeup and wore nothing but pantsuits and double knits.
"Our Husbands Weren't Brain Surgeons. The Only Way They Could Make Money Was To Go Out And Cut A Few Corners."
After being married to Henry for a while. Karen gets used to the mob life. In another voiceover, she explains how it all felt normal to her. She even liked the way her husband was making money.
According to her, other men were sitting around every day waiting for handouts from their bosses at the end of the month. Mobsters were different. They went out every day and came back with money. To add weight to her statement, the scene then cuts to Henry and Tommy hijacking a truck.
"A Few Bucks To Keep Things Quiet, No Matter What They Found."
Karen also reveals what it was like dealing with the police. Apparently, they'd show up at the house frequently with subpoenas and warrants. They enjoyed harassing mobsters but most of them never really had the intention of arresting. All they wanted were handouts and they'd go away.
According to her, such warrants made them find a lot of incriminating evidence. However, they didn't do anything about it so long as money changed hands.
"We Always Went Together. No Outsiders."
Explaining what the life of a mob wife was like, Karen says that they always accompanied each other everywhere. No matter what great city or exotic island they visited, they were always together. As time went by, she found it fun.
The reason for this was to prevent outsiders from coming across any incriminating information about the mob. Each mob wife knew what her husband did, hence she could talk freely. There wouldn't have been the same kind of freedom if outsiders were involved.
"Wake Up, Henry!"
Understandably, Henry's affair doesn't sit well with Karen. One morning, she wakes him and when he opens his eyes, she is on top of him with a gun pointed at his face.
She demands to know whether he loves his mistress but he refuses to answer. She then admits that she can neither bring herself to hurt him or leave him, no matter how disappointed she is. She just loves him despite his numerous misdemeanors.