The patriarch of the notorious Corleone family, Vito commanded the moniker of Godfather. He took countless people under his wing and those who knew him looked at him as the benevolent arbiter of justice. Their enemies became his enemies, and in return, he asked for nothing but their friendship and association.
Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) made it amply clear that family values were at the heart of Vito's character. His children, on the other hand, were devoid of the same values and principles. Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie failed their own father in the following ways.
Sonny Began An Illicit Affair With Lucy Mancini
Don Corleone's oldest, Santino was nothing like his calm and calculating father. He was emotionally driven and his outbursts were often out of proportion to the situation. His rage set into action the course of events that contributed to his downfall and untimely death.
While Vito was a family man till the end of his days, Sonny was unfaithful to the mother of his children, Sandra. He unabashedly began a years-long extramarital affair with Connie's maid of honor on her wedding day. Sonny's disgraceful behavior prompted his father to admonish him, saying, "I think your brain is going soft with all that comedy you are playing with that young girl."
Sonny, Fredo, & Michael Were Disinterested In Connie's Wedding
The opening scene of The Godfather draws a sharp contrast between Vito and his three sons. It's Connie's wedding day, obviously, the head of the family, Vito has a full plate, and yet he attends to his wife and daughter. Vito refuses to take the family photograph without Michael, shares a dance with Carmela, and waltzes with Connie on the dance floor.
It's a grandiose affair, and people from all sections have gathered to share the special day with the Corleones. Vito's sons however seem preoccupied with their own things. Sonny assaults an FBI agent, Fredo is missing from the celebrations and inappropriately greets Michael and his girlfriend, Kay. As for Al Pacino's Michael, he arrives late and repeatedly disassociates himself from his family in front of Kay.
Michael Was Consumed With Getting Revenge
When Michael Corleone laid out his plan to gun down the police captain, Sonny, Tessio, Clemenza had a hearty laugh. They found his proposal amusing because Michael was a former Marine and a civilian who strove for middle-class respectability.
While Michael wasn't inherently ruthless, the trajectory he was on made him be. Once he was neck-deep in the family business, he forgot to separate personal from business. Everything came at a human cost, for example, countless lives were shattered in the five families war. There was no justification for Michael's ruthlessness and he was far too vengeful than Vito and his men combined.
Michael Shut Kay Out
Michael deeply cared for Kay in that he did everything to prevent her implication in the Corleone family crimes but he also froze her out in the process. Perhaps if Apollonia had lived, Michael would have been a nurturing man like his father. But a part of him died the day his innocent wife was assassinated.
At the end of The Godfather, Michael's capos gathered in his office and one of them shut the door on Kay as she stood still. This scene was pivotal for the reason that it signified Kay would always be standing on the outside looking in.
Michael Was An Unattentive Family Man
Vito showered his wife with unconditional love, but the same cannot be said for Michael. The events that followed Sonny and Apollonia's assassination had a direct bearing on him and he devolved into a tragic hero. The second time Michael got married, he had already begun his transition into a cold and ruthless mobster.
Michael had envisioned a different life with Kay, away from his family's dirty business. Vito had hoped his son would become a senator or a governor but destiny had different plans nonetheless. Michael was cold-hearted towards his family and the end of The Godfather II signifies this very well. He's sitting alone in his armchair and the scene emphasizes he let cold-blooded logic dictate every aspect of his life.
Connie Was An Absent Mother
Connie hated Michael for having her husband killed, and for wrecking her home. And in order to get back at him, she abandoned her children and pursued meaningless relationships.
Early on in The Godfather II, when Connie visited Michael and asked for money to marry Merl, the latter angrily questioned her life choices. Michael expressed disapproval of Connie's parenting for she saw her children on the weekends and was unaware her oldest boy was arrested for theft.
Michael Prevented Kay From Seeing Their Children
Besides failing to end the cycle of vengeance, Michael also forbade discussions at home, resulting in a schism between him and Kay. By the time the couple divorced, Michael didn't have any shred of humanity left in him. After he retained the custody of Anthony and Mary, he acted out of spite and kept them from their mother.
Towards the end of The Godfather, Connie was seen taking care of her brother's children. Though she allowed Kay to see her children, she also insisted Kay leave the premises before Michael saw them.
Fredo Was Stepped Over
Right before Vito's death, he recalls the plans he had for his children. Sonny would take his place as the head and Michael would enter into politics, but Vito stops short when it came to Fredo.
Fredo, the older son was stepped over because Vito wanted his youngest son to take his place. Nobody had cared to ask Fredo what he wanted, and it had greatly disappointed him. Fredo was often asked to run errands for important people. Moreover, he wasn't treated with the same respect as his younger brother, Michael.
Fredo Betrayed Michael
The capos mistreated Fredo right under Michael's nose and it, in turn, led him to betray his family when approached by Johnny Ola. Fredo had passed on vital, not to mention confidential information about Michael's whereabouts and activities to Johnny and Hyman Roth while their organizations brokered a deal.
Although Fredo claimed he was left in the dark and didn't know Michael was going to be hit, the fact remains he was partially complicit in Michael's assassination attempt on the night of Anthony's first communion.
Michael Killed His Own Brother
While confronting Fredo about the betrayal, Michael held his face and gave him the kiss of death. "You broke my heart!" the mafioso kept repeatedly saying as he refused to let his brother go.
After Michael gathered intelligence about his adversaries from Fredo, he kept him at arm's length and ousted him from the family businesses. Michael had made it clear his brother would be unharmed as long as their mother was alive. Seeing as he neither forgot nor forgave, once Carmela passed away, he had Al Neri carry out Fredo's execution in the most ruthless manner.