Remember the Oscar-winning biographical crime drama, Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese? Believe it or not, the critically acclaimed mobster film has an uncommon and fascinating connection to a classic Steve Martin comedy, My Blue Heaven, released in the exact same year. The films have been released just a single month apart, with My Blue Heaven beating Goodfellas into theaters in August 1990, although Goodfellas came out in September. The variations involving these films are evening and day. Goodfellas was primarily based on writer Nicholas Pileggi‘s nonfiction crime book, Wiseguy, about the rise and fall of the genuine-life mobster Henry Hill from the 1950s to 1980s. Meanwhile, My Blue Heaven is a modern, upbeat comedy with Steve Martin portraying a mobster, Vinnie Antonelli, who enters into federal witness protection beneath the oversight of FBI agent Barney Coopersmith (Rick Moranis).

At 1st glance, it really is nearly unbelievable that My Blue Heaven was also heavily inspired by Pileggi’s Wiseguy. However, My Blue Heaven producer and writer, the late Nora Ephron, was married to Pileggi, and they shared analysis although operating on their respective films. Both Goodfellas and My Blue Heaven are primarily based on the life of Henry Hill, with My Blue Heaven taking inspiration from Hill’s time beneath federal witness protection. As a outcome, My Blue Heaven is somewhat of an unofficial companion piece to Goodfellas.

My Blue Heaven (1990)

My Blue Heaven stars Steve Martin as Vinnie Antonelli, a mobster getting into witness protection beneath the supervision of FBI agent Barney Coopersmith, played by Rick Moranis. Directed by Herbert Ross, this comedy unfolds as Vinnie tries to adapt to his new suburban life although Barney faces the challenges of maintaining him out of problems and harm’s way. The film humorously explores themes of crime, identity, and unlikely friendships.

Release Date

August 17, 1990

Director

Herbert Ross

Runtime

97 Minutes

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Nora Ephron

Studio

Warner Bros.

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‘Goodfellas’ and ‘My Blue Heaven’ Are Different Cinematic Experiences

While each films include American mobster components, Goodfellas and My Blue Heaven are distinct cinematic functions. Goodfellas is a really significant, grounded, dark, and violent crime drama primarily based on genuine-life historical events. It’s told in a biographical format, taking spot more than quite a few decades from 1955 to 1980. Ray Liotta leads an all-star cast as Henry Hill in the prestige film, which was nominated for quite a few Academy Awards, such as Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. Joe Pesci won the Best Supporting Actor award for his overall performance as Tommy DeVito in the film.

My Blue Heaven is a really light, upbeat modern comedy set in the present day. It veers to extra of a fish-out-of-water and buddy comedy format, focusing on the oddball connection involving the profession New York mobster, Vinnie Antonelli, and the nerdy, uptight FBI agent, Barney Coopersmith. The film is constructed about Steve Martin’s star energy, power, and charisma, with the concentrate on Barney attempting to hold Vinnie incognito till he can testify in court. Meanwhile, a California district lawyer, Hannah Stubbs (Joan Cusack), desires to nail Vinnie for continuing to take component in petty criminal activities immediately after getting into witness protection. Vinnie’s connection with Barney showcases how the ex-mobster aids the divorced FBI agent operate up the self-confidence to romance the similarly divorced and single DA Stubbs.

Essentially, My Blue Heaven functions as an escapist comedy, displaying the culture clash involving a former upper-class wealthy mobster and middle-class suburban family members values. However, it is performed in such a way that there are no lasting unfavorable consequences. In the finish, Vinnie Antonelli becomes a beloved figure in the fictional suburban town of Fryburg, California. Hannah Stubbs provides up on incarcerating Vinnie, and she and Barney grow to be a couple. Vinnie marries a police officer and opens a new Little League stadium in Fryburg. Ultimately, Vinnie becomes a neighborhood town hero and finds fame in Fryburg.

It’s a stark contrast to the ending of Goodfellas, with Henry Hill getting into federal witness protection, becoming miserable as he lives an typical, boring suburban life as an ordinary, boring “schnook.” While Henry Hill regrets the loss of his preceding life with the mob, My Blue Heaven requires a extra fantastical, upbeat, and good strategy to a mobster getting into witness protection in the suburbs. At 1st, Vinnie struggles to adjust to suburban life but in the end, via his connections and relationships, Vinnie melds the two worlds with each other, and it really is executed in an unserious, comedic style.

Nora Ephron Used Personal Conversations With Henry Hill as Inspiration for ‘My Blue Heaven’

My Blue Heaven and Goodfellas in the end share related DNA in that they have been derived from the exact same mafia topic, Henry Hill. The late, good Ephron previously spoke at length about the conception of My Blue Heaven, taking inspiration from the life of Henry Hill, and her husband Nick Pileggi’s operate on Wiseguy and Goodfellas for the duration of a 2006 interview with NPR. Ephron stated at the time, “The movie came from the fact that I’m married to Nick Pileggi, who wrote Wiseguy, which became the unbelievably great movie Goodfellas. And Henry Hill, the man that Goodfellas and Wiseguy are about… The Ray Liotta character. Henry Hill, in real life, was put into the witness protection program after the end of the movie.”

Ephron continued on Hill, “He was sent to Redmond, Washington, the bicycle capital of America, where he single-handedly started a crime wave because there was no crime there. And we kept getting all these collect phone calls from Henry asking for bail and asking for various other forms of assistance.” It was via Hill that Ephron received firsthand analysis for her eventual comedy script, which would depict a New York mobster getting into federal witness protection, and comedy higher jinks ensue.

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Hill would later create in his personal autobiography, Gangsters and Goodfellas: Wiseguys…and Life on the Run, that he would contact Nick Pileggi in New York to chat, or as Hill place it, “It was like therapy for me.” However, often Nick Pileggi wasn’t readily available, top to individual conversations involving Ephron and Hill. As Hill described, “Sometimes Nick’s wife, Nora, would answer the phone and tell me, ‘Hey, Nick is sleeping. What’s the matter, Henry? This is Aunt Nora.'” Hill revealed that some of the issues he discussed with “Aunt Nora” more than the telephone have been later depicted in My Blue Heaven.

Hill beginning a genuine-life crime wave in peaceful Redmond, Washington resembles Vinnie Antonelli setting up his crime racket, created up of other mobsters also in witness protection, in Fryburg, California in the film. The late Henry Hill also wrote of Ephron:

“She took a combination of me and [alleged mafia operator] Michael Franzese, [whom] she had read about in the papers. I never got a penny for it, but Nick had been so generous with me that I just let it slide. Had it been anyone else’s wife…”

‘My Blue Heaven’ and ‘Goodfellas’ Had Completely Different Receptions

My Blue Heaven did not knowledge the quick good results that Goodfellas did, but it discovered good results later on with the advent of residence video and premium cable channels. Although My Blue Heaven was not particularly beloved by critics when initially released, it really is now viewed as a comedy classic and amongst Steve Martin’s finest functions, enduring as a classic film for more than 30 years. Now, viewers can go back and re-watch each films, realizing they have been conceived and primarily based upon the exact same infamous organized crime figure, Henry Hill, with Goodfellas taking the biographical crime drama strategy, and My Blue Heaven working with a extra upbeat, escapist comedy strategy, depicting life in witness protection for a after potent mob figure.

My Blue Heaven is at present readily available to rent or acquire on Apple Television+ in the U.S.

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