Goodfellas: Tommy’s “Funny How” Scene Hid His & Paulie’s Actual Plan

One of the most memorable scenes in Goodfellas is Tommy DeVito’s “funny how” rage moment, and some viewers have pointed out an often forgotten moment in it that actually hides his and Paulie’s real plan. In over four decades in the film industry, Martin Scorsese has earned a spot as one of the most respected and beloved filmmakers, and he has explored a variety of genres – however, he continues to be best remembered for his gangster movies.

The one often regarded as his best from the crime genre is the 1990 movie Goodfellas, based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. Goodfellas tells the story of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his days as a teenager running errands for Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his crew to his full involvement with the Lucchese crime family a couple of years later. Henry became acquainted with many big names in the mob, most notably Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy “The Gent” Conway (Robert De Niro), with whom he committed a variety of crimes. Out of Henry’s group, the most dangerous gangster was Tommy, who was known for being very violent.

Tommy DeVito (who in real life was named Tommy DeSimone) got involved with the Lucchese family at a young age, just like Henry, with whom he worked a couple of times, like that one time they were selling cigarettes and Henry was arrested. As they grew up, Henry got to know Tommy better and better, and he knew well he was a dangerous man. Tommy was impulsive and had anger management issues, which led him to be very violent against anyone who wronged him (or, at least, that he thought had done so). He also had a strange sense of humor, as seen in the famous “funny how?” scene where he was supposedly mad at Henry for saying he was a funny guy, but he soon revealed he was just messing with him. However, what happens right after they laugh about it hides a major plan between Tommy, Paulie, and Henry.

The scene continues as the restaurant owner, Sonny, approaches Tommy to tell him about an unpaid tab, to which Tommy reacts aggressively and smashes a bottle on his head. The movie then sees Henry and Sonny with Paulie talking about Tommy’s behavior, and Henry encourages Sonny to tell Paulie about what they talked about: offering a stake in the restaurant to Paulie in exchange of protection. After some hesitation, Paulie agreed and having the restaurant gave them yet another cover for their underground operations, and as planned, the place soon went bankrupt, and Paulie and crew ended up buying the place – and blowing it to pieces. Some viewers have pointed out that in Wiseguy it’s explained that Tommy’s behavior towards Sonny is not him being a bully, but he’s actually pressuring him in order to push him to do exactly what he and the crew want: run to Paulie to ask for protection and offering a stake in the restaurant. This is hinted at when after attacking Sonny at the restaurant, Tommy turned to Henry and told him “you’re supposed to be doing this stuff too, you know”.

Paulie pretending to be skeptical was also part of the plan, and even when he asks Henry if he knew anything about the restaurant business, Henry gives a discreet smirk, further hinting at how they had it all planned. What Paulie really wanted, then, was the restaurant in its entirety, and they got it by earning Sonny’s trust and later intimidating him so he had no other choice. This is yet another example of the clever narrative in Goodfellas, which has some very subtle pieces of foreshadowing from beginning to end.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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