Time to do something a little different here. Anyone who knows me knows my favorite movie of all time is Goodfellas. Anyone who knows me knows I’m also addicted to making lists and ranking things. So without further ado I present the official Jake’s Takes Top 10 Goodfellas Quotes.
10. “Now the guy’s got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill, he can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now the guy’s gotta come up with Paulie’s money every week, no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning, huh? Fuck you, pay me.” -Henry Hill
Pretty simple explanation from Henry about what doing business with the mob is like. I just love the repeated “Fuck you, Pay me” it really drives the point home.
9. “Why don’t you go fuck yourself, Tommy?” -Spider
Some powerful last words here from Spider. He definitely picked the wrong guy to provoke. An underrated part of this scene is Jimmy telling Tommy he has to dig the hole, and Tommy tells him he doesn’t give a fuck.
8. “Come on, fuckos. Let’s go for a ride.” -Jimmy Conway
One of my personal favorites right here. Jimmy and Henry are leaving the diner and Jimmy knocks on the window of the cops who are tailing them to wake them up. Also what a great line to say to your friends when you’re about to go somewhere.
7. “That’s the hardest part. Today everything is different. There’s no action. I have to wait around like everyone else. Can’t even get decent food. After I got here I ordered spaghetti with marinara sauce…and I got egg noodles with ketchup. I’m an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.” -Henry Hill
The final line of the movie is also one of it’s most iconic. Henry talking about what it’s like to be a regular person, or as he calls it a schnook. The quote is also paired with a great visual of Henry getting the paper in his robe outside the witness protection house.
6. “Medium rare… An aristocrat.” -Johnny Dio
Another personal favorite of mine. I love the prison cooking scene. Paulie cutting the garlic and telling them not put too many onions in the sauce probably would’ve made the cut, but I didn’t want to use two quotes from this scene. When it came down to it I like this one better. Johnny cooking the steak in a pan, smoking a cigar, and the way he delivers the line is top notch.
5. “You mean-let me understand this, ‘cause, you know, maybe it’s me, I’m a little fucked up maybe, but I’m funny how, I mean, funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?” –Tommy DeVito
One of the most quoted and memeable lines from the movie. This one never fails to make me laugh. That along with Henry’s reaction when Tommy tells him he’s fucking with him is all-time, and it starts off the top 5.
4. “I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers.” -Jimmy Two-Times
I mean what do I have to say about this one? The only line we get from Jimmy is also one of the movies best. This comes right before our number 5 entry and I personally find it funnier because it’s such a preposterous one-off line seemingly out of nowhere.
3. “Now go home and get your fuckin’ shine box” -Billy Batts
Frank Vincent does such a good job at playing a dickhead. If you’ve seen The Sopranos I’m sure you hated Phil Leotardo just as much as I did. Billy just needling Tommy this whole scene is very funny, but as we learned earlier with Spider don’t piss off Tommy cuz he’ll probably kill you.
2. “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” -Henry Hill
I’m guessing this would be number 1 on a lot of lists, but I’ll get to that later. After the flash forward scene to start the movie this is the unofficial opening line of the movie, and man does it set the tone for the film. A perfect start to the opening scene.
1. “I like this one. One dog goes one way, the other dog goes the other way… and this guys sayin’ whaddya want from me?” -Tommy DeVito
This is probably my favorite line from any movie ever. I’m not sure what it is about it, but when she pulls that picture up and Tommy gives it his half assed critique it gets me every time. Just all around funny the way the line is delivered, and then the realization of who the painting looks like is fantastic.
So there you have it, the official Jake’s Takes Top 10 Goodfellas Quotes. I’m sure plenty will disagree, but I don’t see you coming up with your own list. So until then this is the undisputed top 10.