In GFI some guy throws Paulie something, I think it is sandwiches or something like that, and Paulie yells at the guy "You stupid Jerk!"
What was that all about? I watch it over and over and over, and can not understand why he is upset. Can some one help me out here???
Thanks guys.....and gals.

Years ago, many Italians had what is referred to as a "football wedding". It would be held in a hall or a backyard and they would serve sandwiches. The sandwiches would be thrown to the guests (thus "football"). Eventually, these weddings were considered crude, for a lower class of people, and went out of style. I would guess that Paulie calls the guy a stupid jerk and looks annoyed because the guy is acting like this a football wedding rather than an elegant affair at Don Vito's house.

Or maybe he's just pissed off because he is being treated like a dog?

Unlike real life, being a driver for the Don doesn't seem to be that great of a gig in The Godfather, and I think most people in the family could care less about him.

The notion of just killing him doesn't bring any added concerns, i.e. he has no crew of associates or friends

He's scared of Clemenza, but will ask Rocco to move over, if he's blocking the mirror

True. But at that point, Paulie was a button--a made man--and Rocco wasn't, yet.

probably why he can tell Rocco to "move over - you're blocking my view."

Better to rule from the front seat, than carry baked goods for your capo?

I think not.

thats y i love this site!!

My mother would always refer to these as 'beer & sandwich' weddings...much more casual than the elegant (and sometimes extravegant) receptions we're used to today.

She also mentioned once that her older sister's wedding in 1947 was one of the last 'beer & sandwich' affairs. By the time my parents got married 10 years later things were quite different.

As to the subject topic...I too never quite saw the point in Paulie's insult to the fellow passing him the sandwich.

Maybe instead of goboghoul/gobogol, he would've preferred turkey & swiss!!



Apple

I too remember such weddings, but never heard them refered to by a specific name. I always thought that that Paulie wedding scene was a bit unnecessay - he's talking to himself afterall and I did not understand his epithet directed toward the guy. Also, why would the guy bring him anything and why throw them? Paulie could have just as easily gotten food or drink himself. Paulie wasn't on station. He was supposed to be roaming around.

A stretch:
Obviously there was plenty of (hot) food for guests at the wedding, as in "You like your lasagna?" But perhaps the Great Sandwich Toss was FFC's way of reinforcing that Paulie wasn't a guest--he was a hired hand (as in Clemenza testily reminding him that he wasn't a dance judge, and to walk the neighborhood and do his job--and therefore Paulie wasn't entitled to sit and eat with the guests. And maybe the sandwich toss reminded him of his second-class status and pissed him off.

Let me just say - this board is awesome....

please, can I now have a sandwich?

Here, catch.

...and he was a little embarrassed. Paulie may have been trying to blend in; give the impression he was an invited guest. And then this "stupid jerk" is tossing sandwiches over the heads of the guests; drawing attention to Paulie the non-invited guest. In the movie or storyline context, FCC uses the wedding scene to establish many of the characters and their role in the family. It's a broad brush and a very effective one. In the first 15 minutes of the movie just think of all the characters you are introduced to.

My wife's Grandmother (God rest her soul) would spin many a story about the Italian coal miners in Northeast Pennsylvania. The wedding's were very humble affairs. Typical fare was a salami sandwich and a grape soda. Gobagool would have been a high class affair.

For those of us with long memories (or for the merely curious), in the 1960s comedian/actor Pat Cooper immortalized "The Italian Football Wedding" in his first album Our Hero. . .Pat Cooper.

As an actor, Cooper has appeared in Analyze This, Analyze That, and This Thing of Ours (to name just a few).

Signor V.

Oh, I remember that album very well! It was one of my father's favorites. If memory serves me correctly The cover of the album had Pat Cooper laying inside an Italian hero sandwich.


"With a bun over here, a gold tooth over there and a beauty mark over here!"

"Nunzio, pass the provolone!"




Don Cardi

DC, you're absolutely right!

I could've sworn I have that album, but after tearing the place apart like a madman, I could only find his second album.

The cover of that second album (Spaghetti Sauce and Other Delights) featured him sitting in a huge vat of spaghetti covered in tomato sauce (yes, I know, some call it gravy...).

Damn...now I'm hungry.

Signor V.