Fredo

Do you think Fredo is dumb?

No....he's smahhhht. If you don't believe me just ask HIM!

yeah right

Dumb as a door

Nicely put Johnny

He´s was pretty dumb ,i´m guess and kinda inocent too.

Fredo is weak minded as he allowed himself to be manipulated into betraying the family. Fredo should have known Mike was cunning and Fredo made the wrong choice to betray the family.

I tend to agree with his brother - "He's weak and stupid." But he did have a good heart and he was a good fisherman. And then he had that special talent for banging two cocktail waitress at the same time. Hmmmmmm, maybe he wasn't so dumb.

Fredo was not a smart man. He was an emotional sort. And his emotions pretty much effected his decisions..

Speaking of Fredo, do you think he looked up to Sonny, maybe as a teenager? I was writing a scene from GF4....
Anyway Fredo was weak minder and emotional, which isnt a good match.So in a way you could say he's dumb, but the word dumb to me is like not being able to tie your shoes or something like that.

I don't think Fredo looked up to Sonny. In the novel it is stated that Sonny was a rebellious and wild teen while Fredo was well-behaved. He seems to side with Michael, most notably when Michael joins the Marines. I don't recall any scene in the film or novel in which Sonny and Fredo spoke or behaved like brothers as did Fredo and Michael. Of course, I may be wrong. I haven't seen the film or read the novel as many times as I should have.

Yeah I remember that part. Its just that I was writing a scene from GF4 today and I was trying to think of why Fredo was weak and I came up with maybe he wanted to be like Sonny (because of Sonny and Vitos relationship, maybe)but realized his brother was a lot better than he and that he could have no hope of ever being as good as Sonny in his father's eyes.Its just an idea.

Fredo wanted respect as he explains to Michael in Godfather Part II. He claims he's smart and that he can handle jobs. He wants people to know he can handle the fmaily businesss and that he can take of his younger brother. He felt he wasn't being trated right in which this is his flaw and allows him to make the mistake of betraying Mike to Roth.

WHY'D YOU DO IT, MIKEY?? GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE!! HE'S YOUR BROTHER!!

I loved Fredo. He's such a good character. It always gets me a little emotional when, after we know Mike has him killed, we see him years earlier congratulating Mike on joining the army.

And I love John Cazale too. That's tremondously sad about him. What a great supporting actor.

I completely agree with everything you say. I loved Michael in GF1 but I just couldn't help loathing him after what he did. Fredo had made a mistake but what Mike did was just completely unforgivable.

And I too loved Cazale. One of the greatest actors in my opinion. He was just amazing in GF2. He should've been nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

i dont want to say he was dumb, he was weak and not really smart.

In the book Fredo goes into shock after seeng his Father shot and Michael thinks about how Fredo was always the most obedient son, but the Don had given up on him being important in the business because he was 'not quite smart enough' and 'not quite ruthless enough. He was too retiring a person, did not have enough force.'
It doesnt really go into this in the film.
I think Fredo is one of my favourite characters.

You have the scene where Vito is shot, and Fredo just sits on the curb and cries. That establishes that he doesn't have the nerve to function under pressure.

Then, when Vito comes home from the hospital and is recuperating in the bedroom, everyone else leaves, and Fredo comes in and sits in a chair. There's no dialogue in the scene but it is still very powerful. Fredo can hardly look at his father because he knows he has failed him. Vito looks at Fredo and knows he can never play a really useful role in the family. The scene conveys those emotions very well.

The most heartbreaking scene in Part II is the murder of Fredo, and the "Don's Birthday" scene following it. Mike had his brother killed, and yet Fredo was the only one who supported him when he joined the Marines, Fredo seemed very close to Mike at the wedding reception, where Mike introduces him to Kay. From a business standpoint, Mike made the right decision. Morally, I don't think he could have made a worse decision. Family comes first. Right when you hear the gunshot, and see Mike's head drop, you can tell right there he's thinking "oh sh*t, what have I done?" So heartbreaking...

And I agree with the lot of you. Cazale was brilliant in this film, and definitely should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. His untimely death was so unfortunate. He would easily be held in as high a regard as that of De Niro, Pacino, and Brando.