THE GOODFELLAS CHRISTMAS PARTY

There’s a Goodfellas Christmas meme (see below) doing the rounds on the internet at the moment that I find both funny and relatable.

After all, who wouldn't want to attend a full on Gangster Christmas Party, especially after you've helped pull off one of the most infamous real-life robberies in American history - the Lufthansa heist - in which the Lucchese crime family with various associate parties stole $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewellery from a cargo vault on December 11, 1978, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. It was the real life character Jimmy Burke (portrayed as Jimmy Conway by Robert DeNiro in the film Goodfellas) who used his insider information from an airport worker to provide him with the details of a regular shipment of untraceable cash which led to the historic cash grab.

Understandably the ensuing Christmas party following the December operation would bring with it a certain amount of festive cheer. Throw in a bar decorated with fairy lights, the sound of The Ronettes 'Frosty The Snowman' and a shit tonne of cash and Bob (DeNiro's) your uncle. Christmas Party immortality assured.

Though there is a caveat and a significant one at that.

What with all the excitement of pulling off this epic robbery, Jimmy finds himself sobering up fairly quickly, frustrated that so many of his crew are spending their cash so flamboyantly on new cars and adorning their goomahs with expensive new fur coats. Although the Christmas party scene in Goodfellas initially exudes tangible jubilation, it also marks the beginning of the downfall for many of those who attend. The mobsters' unsubtle celebrations, flaunting their newfound wealth, threaten to draw the attention of ever-watchful local authorities, including the FBI as Jimmy begins to realise that some of the individuals who helped him pull off the heist might also be the ones to bring his entire criminal enterprise crashing down. In a scene or two later, he famously stands by the jukebox playing Cream's Sunshine of Your Love, his eyes dancing with suspicion as he plots which members of his team may need to be eliminated.

It's no exaggeration to say that the film's structure is divided into two halves: the pre-Christmas party events and the post-Christmas party events. If the party at Robert's Lounge represents the pinnacle of Goodfellas' achievements, then everything that follows will descend into the bottomless abyss on the other side of the gangster hubris/tragedy spectrum.

So it's a dilemma. As much as I can imagine how amazing those Goodfellas Christmas party vibes would be at first, knowing that it may cost me my life may be a sacrifice too great even for a Christmas junkie like me to trade with.

I think I'll stick to being an average nobody and spend the rest of my life living like a schnook instead.