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Originally posted by plawrence:
As for Michael, I think when it came to women in general and sex in particular, he inherited his father's "straitlaced" views.

As he said to Fredo about the girls in his Las Vegas hotel suite:

"Get rid of them."
plawrence, I'm not singling you out, but I use your quote because it's the closest one in this topic to reflect what I've read while browsing posts from the past that mentioned this. They go something like this:
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Michael never had a mistress; he was completely monogamous. He and Vito were both like this: they were puritanical about sex, they were prudish, they were inhibited, they were old-fashioned, etc.
Now most of the opinions of that ilk were posted by men. I bet if you ask the women what they thought of Michael's being faithful to his wife and never fooling around on his many business trips they would have very different adjectives: romantic, family-oriented, committed, loving, ideal, caring.

To you guys (and you know who you are smile ), I have to ask this: Why do you infer that because Michael was exclusively faithful to his wife that this automatically makes him puritanical or inhibitied about sex? I think there is something extremely sexy, sensual, and romantic about a man who's engaged in a monogamous relationship with someone he deeply loves.

Didn't Michael sleep with Kay before they were married (in a deleted scene from GF1)? Wasn't Michael very sensual and tender with Apollonia on their wedding night? Look at the signs of caring and protectiveness toward Kay in GF2: the way he caresses her face on the pillow when he sees Anthony's drawing, the way he takes her hand and looks at her with family pride when Senator Geary mentions the celebraton of "a young man's [Anthony's] first communion," the way he holds her close when they're dancing.

And as for anyone who doesn't think Michael could have been (if his life circumstances had been different) an ideal husband and father, ask a woman and I'm sure you'll get a different opinion. If I had a handsome husband who, when welcomed at his hotel room by a roomful of beauties, says "Get rid of them" and only had eyes for me, THAT'S what I would call IDEAL. [Linked Image] wink
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Originally posted by plawrence:
Fredo, I think, sought to cover up the inadequacies in other areas of his life through his sexual conquests - for example, cocktail waitresses two at a time, and marrying a movie star.
I completely agree. These superficial connections allowed Fredo to avoid commitment. He didn't form an emotional bond with anyone (not even with his wife Deanna) the way Michael did with Kay (in terms of their building a life together and having a family).

Ironically, Fredo's way of life -- promiscuous, sexually liberated -- was actually very lonely and lacking in romance, bonding, love, caring (the better half of sex) compared to the "straitlaced" Michael, who I'm sure experienced more ecstasy in the bedroom because he was with his life's partner, someone he really loved.

And for me to have this opinion, of course, I believe that Michael truly loved Kay (I happen to think she was THE love of his life) and didn't marry her just to bear his children.

And that's my two cents; keep the change cool .