History Fridge / GoodFellas

* After Tommy's murder, Jimmy and Henry begin their respective downward spirals. This troper wouldn't go so far as to call him their MoralityPet per se, but it could be that having a violent psychopath like Tommy around gave Jimmy and Henry the distracting task of keeping him in check, preventing them from fully indulging in their own most self-destructive behavior (Jimmy's paranoia, Henry's drug abuse).
* Why weren't Henry and/or Jimmy whacked alongside Tommy for their part in Billy Batts' death? Perhaps it's that, despite the murder taking place in Henry Hill's bar, the only thing any outside witnesses saw was Tommy in a heated exchange with Batts, with Henry and Jimmy actively trying to defuse the situation. So with no other indication of intent or proof beyond that, Paulie or whoever is just going to presume that Tommy acted alone in killing Batts.

* Why does Billy Batts go out of his way to antagonize Tommy, given that Tommy is such a violent hothead? It's not as clear as it might be because Frank Vincent was only six years older than Joe Pesci, but in real life, Billy Batts was nearly 30 years older than Tommy [=DeSimone=] (the original of Tommy [=DeVito=]) and had gone to prison in 1962, when [=DeSimone=] was only twelve years old, and was released eight years later when [=DeSimone=] was 20. That's why he treats Tommy as if he were still a child: he has ''no clue'' what sort of guy Tommy is, or what he's capable of. And on top of that, Batts may have felt like his made man status protected him. Remember, Henry says that when you're a Made Guy you can screw around with whoever you want, and no one can screw with you in return. Not safely, anyway, and Batts just didn't realize that Tommy would ignore that.

'''As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

* Why does Billy Batts go out of his way to antagonize Tommy, given that Tommy is such a violent hothead? It's not as clear as it might be because Frank Vincent was only six years older than Joe Pesci, but in real life, Billy Batts was nearly 30 years older than Tommy [=DeSimone=] (the original of Tommy [=DeVito=]) and had gone to prison in 1962, when [=DeSimone=] was only twelve years old, and was released eight years later when [=DeSimone=] was 20. That's why he treats Tommy as if he were still a child: he has ''no clue'' what sort of guy Tommy is, or what he's capable of. And on top of that Batts may have felt like his made man status protected him. Remember, Henry says that when you're a Made Guy you can screw around with whoever you want, and no one can screw with you in return.

* After Tommy's murder. Jimmy and Henry begin their respective downward spirals. This troper wouldn't go so far as to call him their MoralityPet per se, but it could be that having a violent psychopath like Tommy around gave Jimmy and Henry the distracting task of keeping him in check, preventing them from fully indulging in their own most self-destructive behavior (Jimmy's paranoia, Henry's drug abuse).
* Why weren't Henry and/or Jimmy whacked alongside Tommy for their part in Billy Batts' death? Perhaps it's that despite the murder taking place in Henry Hill's bar, what any witnesses saw was Tommy in a heated exchange with Batts, with Henry and Jimmy Conway actively trying to defuse the situation. So with no other indication of intent or proof beyond that, Paulie or whomever is just going to presume that Tommy acted alone in killing Batts.

[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
* After Spider tells Tommy to go fuck himself, watch Tommy. He goes completely quiet and [[TranquilFury just stares at Spider]]. Jimmy's egging him on might have sped things up a bit, but he's already decided what he's going to do. Tommy is a bully, and bullies ''hate'' having people stand up to them. Spider was a dead man the minute he showed some backbone.

* Why did Scorsese use the piano coda from ''Layla'' during the "Kill 'Em All" montage after the too-successful Lufthansa heist? Normally, that part of the song plays like a wedding procession, a celebration of the joining of two loving souls. But the montage is leading up to the big HopeSpot of Tommy getting promoted to Made Man. As the piano piece reaches its apex, Jimmy is proud and happy like a father enjoying his son's wedding day. The song notably ends just as Tommy gets led into an empty meeting room and his death.

* A very minor one: when Henry and the guys are in prison and making pasta sauce, why did they warn Vinnie not to put too many onions in it? Because these guys are going to be stuck in a prison cell with each other all night, and onions tend to cause flatulence.

* In the "Funny like I'm a clown?" scene, which was improvised by Pesci and Liotta based on something that happened to Pesci, although Tommy is trolling Henry, the difference between them is revealing. Henry's point of view is that he's calling him skilled at describing things in a funny way ("The way you tell the story, it's funny...") but Tommy reacts as though Henry is saying that there is something fundamentally laughable about Tommy ("I'm like a clown?"). Henry is saying to Tommy ''You are good at being funny'', which is a compliment, but what Tommy hears (or rather, pretends to hear) is ''I don't take you seriously'', which is an insult.

* Why did Scorsese use the piano coda from ''Layla'' during the "Kill 'Em All" montage after the too-successful Lufthansa heist? Normally, that part of the song plays like a wedding procession, a celebration of the joining of two loving souls. But the montage is leading up to the big HopeSpot of Tommy getting promoted to Made Man. As the piano piece reaches its apex, Jimmy is proud and happy like a father enjoying his son's wedding day. The song notably ends just as Tommy [[spoiler:gets led into an empty meeting room and his death.]]

* After [[spoiler: Tommy's murder]]. Jimmy and Henry begin their respective downward spirals. This troper wouldn't go so far as to call him their MoralityPet per se, but it could be that having a violent psychopath like Tommy around gave Jimmy and Henry the distracting task of keeping him in check, preventing them from fully indulging in their own most self-destructive behavior (Jimmy's paranoia, Henry's drug abuse).
* Why weren't Henry and/or Jimmy whacked [[spoiler: alongside Tommy]] for their part in Billy Batts' death? Perhaps it's that despite the murder taking place in Henry Hill's bar, what any witnesses saw was Tommy in a heated exchange with Batts, with Henry and Jimmy Conway actively trying to defuse the situation. So with no other indication of intent or proof beyond that, Paulie or whomever is just going to presume that Tommy acted alone in killing Batts.

* Why does Billy Batts go out of his way to antagonize Tommy, given that Tommy is such a violent hothead? It's not as clear as it might be because Frank Vincent was only six years older than Joe Pesci, but in real life, Billy Batts was nearly 30 years older than Tommy [=DeSimone=] (the original of Tommy [=DeVito=]) and had gone to prison in 1962, when [=DeSimone=] was only twelve years old, and was released eight years later when [=DeSimone=] was 20. That's why he treats Tommy as if he were still a child: he has ''no clue'' what sort of guy Tommy is, or what he's capable of.

* Why does Billy Batts go out of his way to antagonise Tommy, given that Tommy is such a violent hothead? It's not as clear as it might be because Frank Vincent was only six years older than Joe Pesci, but in real life, Billy Batts was nearly 30 years older than Tommy [=DeSimone=] (the original of Tommy [=DeVito=]) and had gone to prison in 1962, when [=DeSimone=] was only twelve years old, and was released eight years later when [=DeSimone=] was 20. That's why he treats Tommy as if he were still a child: he has ''no clue'' what sort of guy Tommy is, or what he's capable of.

[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
* Tommy himself is pure FridgeHorror. He is incredibly sadistic and paranoid when he is mad, and any word misunderstood by himself can lead to murder.
* Billy Batts's unbelievably drawn-out murder. Tommy and Jimmy give him a brutal beating and then they lock him in the boot of a car. But then they drive to Tommy's mother's house to pick up a knife, and she greets them, has a conversation with them and insists on ''cooking them dinner'', which they eat. Even if she reheated something she made earlier, they must have been there for at least a couple of hours before getting back into the car again. And only later still does Batts revive enough to start making a noise in the trunk, whereupon they stop the car and Tommy finally puts Batts out of his misery.
** It was practically ''ColdBloodedTorture'', and probably intentional. And ALL THIS because Tommy ''can't take a joke?''.

* Tommy himself is pure FridgeHorror. He is incredibly irrational, psychotic, sadistic and paranoid when he is mad, and any word misunderstood by himself can lead to murder. He's presumably already committed other killings or beatings before the movie starts. Imagine how he must have been in school.

* Why did Scorcese use the piano coda from ''Layla'' during the "Kill 'Em All" montage after the too-successful Lufthansa heist? Normally, that part of the song plays like a wedding procession, a celebration of the joining of two loving souls. But the montage is leading up to the big HopeSpot of Tommy getting promoted to Made Man. As the piano piece reaches its apex, Jimmy is proud and happy like a father enjoying his son's wedding day. The song notably ends just as Tommy [[spoiler:gets led into an empty meeting room and his death.]]

* If you pay attention to the personality of Tommy, is pure FridgeHorror. He is incredibly irrational, psychotic, sadistic and paranoid when he is mad, and any word misunderstood by himself can lead to murder. So here, it is very likely already committed other killings or beatings before the movie. Worse, you can imagine how he must have been in school?
* If it gets you thinking about how was the infamous murder of Billy Batts, it was extremely painful and horrible. He was still alive after Tommy propose him a brutal beating and irrational, and then died when Tommy kills him with a knife in the stomach.
** Think about it for a moment, it was practically ''ColdBloodedTorture'', and probably intentional by part of Tommy, ''being completely aware of his suffering'', ALL THIS because ''he can not take a joke?''. If you think about it, is a rather sadistic way to kill someone.
** This fact becomes even more gruesome if you start thinking about in Tommy's personality (see above).

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]
* If Batts's murder is the reason [[spoiler: Tommy is executed]], what about Jimmy and Henry? They both helped, after all.
** Witnesses. Members of Batts' crew saw Tommy threaten him and that was the last place he was ever seen. Nobody saw Jimmy help Tommy kill him or Henry help them bury him so they were off the hook. In RealLife Tommy was given up to the Gambino family by Paulie because Tommy had tried to rape Karen (who was having an affair with Paulie) while Henry was in prison.
** Also bear in mind that a number of other people complained about Tommy too. So Batts' crew probably came to Paulie and asked him to throw him under the bus and it would have been easy for Paulie to shrug away Tommy's life since he had been a liability for some time. After all Tommy was a violent thug who everybody else complained about, aside from Henry and Jimmy, nobody liked him. Henry and Jimmy were also "good earners" whereas Tommy was the muscle and a HairTriggerTemper.

** Witnesses. Members of Batts' crew saw Tommy threaten him and that was the last place he was ever seen. Nobody saw Jimmy help Tommy kill him or Henry help them bury him so they were off the hook. In RealLife Tommy was given up to the Gambino family by Paulie because Tommy had tried to rape Karen (who was having an affair with Paulie) while Henry was in prison.

* If Batts's murder is the reason [[spoiler: Tommy is executed]], what about Jimmy and Henry? They both helped, after all.

** This fact becomes even more gruesome if you start thinking about in Tommy's personality (see above).

** Think about it for a moment, it was practically ''ColdBloodedTorture'', and probably intentional by part of Tommy. If you think about it, is a rather sadistic way to kill someone.

** Think about it for a moment, it was practically ''ColdBloodedToruture'', and probably intentional by part of Tommy. If you think about it, is a rather sadistic way to kill someone.