Since the holiday season is officially in full swing, what better way to celebrate than by taking in a family film? And by that we mean…capital “F” Family.
The Tivoli is showing restored prints of “The Godfather” series this month — tonight is the final night for the original film, and Part II will run Dec. 5-11. No amount of film restoration will improve Part III, though…
During the film I was struck by differences in leadership styles between Vito Corleone and Mark Funkhouser…and found myself wishing for a Mafioso Mayor. Take, for instance, the scene in which the Don addresses the heads of the Five Families following the assassination of Sonny — in order to broker a peace among the warring factions, he declares he will not exact revenge for his son’s death:
You talk about vengance. Is vengance going to bring your son back to you or my boy to me? I forgo the vengeance of my son.
Corleone realized that the only way to end the cycle of violence was to put aside personal emotion and vendettas. Mr. Mayor, it would behoove you to reacquaint yourself with that concept — drop the “My Gloria was wronged, so I’ll trash the city on a national stage” foolishness and get back to running the city.
We have serious budget issues to contend with, a spiraling homicide rate, citizens who are crying out for true leadership, and you’re more concerned with how your wife was kicked out of City Hall – which is something she brought upon herself, despite paranoiac Cashillian fables about political machinations to oust her. A blunt yet well-meant message for you and the missus, sir: Get over yourselves. You have a constituency of nearly 2 million people that deserve your attention…and they are your collective boss. The time, energy and resources devoted to your own saga does nothing but harm the city and give the public even more reasons not to trust politicians.
Funkfather, remember this maxim: It’s not personal. It’s business. Learn it. Live it.
Uh-oh, are we going to the mattresses? Did Ed Riley put you up to this?
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