I met Danny over Thanksgiving. He’s 15 and was born with Down syndrome. He lives next door to my wife’s family and they’ve embraced him as one of their own. During Thanksgiving dinner, Danny showed me the proper way to cut turkey so the gravy covers all the meat. He told me about his love for comic books and movies. After some sweet potato pie, we departed for the living room. Danny scoured the vast DVD collection until he found The Godfather. He inserted the disc. As the “Godfather Waltz” serenaded over the opening titles, Danny mock-conducted an invisible symphony. The titles ended and the opening image revealed a balding, mustached man.
“That’s the undertaker,” Danny said. “Somebody hurt his little girl.”
“What’s an undertaker,” I asked.
“He takes you underground when you die.”
Marlon Brando as Don Corleone appeared on screen. “That’s the boss,” Danny informed me. “He doesn’t like horses.”
As the movie progressed, Danny summarized each scene and told me about the characters. Sonny (James Caan) was “the big brother who liked ladies in their underwear.” Michael (Al Pacino) was “a good person who did bad things.” Connie (Talia Shire) “married a bad man but that’s okay because she later marries Rocky Balboa.”
During ominous moments, Danny uttered a loud, “Uh oh.” When Sonny was brutally shot to death Danny said, “A lot of people work at that toll booth.” During the Sicily scene when Michael’s wife dies in a car explosion meant for Michael, Danny said, “She hit the wrong button.” When Michael goes to the restaurant to kill Sollozzo, he said, “They have good veal but scary bathrooms.”
Danny made sure to explain the mafia slang. “Make an offer he can’t refuse” means “he likes to be bossy.” “Sleep with the fishes” means “sleeping underwater until you die.” “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer” means “you need to be nice to everybody.”
During the scene in the backyard tomato garden where Don Corleone plays with his grandson, Danny said, “Uh oh. That kid’s gonna kill that man.”
“How’s he gonna kill him,” I asked.
“He’s gonna spray poison on him.”
The young boy sprays a water can toward his grandfather. Don Corleone coughs and falls to the ground.
“See,” Danny said. “Got him in the face. That kid’s a killer.”
During the funeral scene for Don Corleone, the camera lingers on Michael’s face.
“He’s mad,” Danny said. “Somebody’s gonna get it.”
The next scene takes place in a church during the baptism of Connie’s child. We see crosses, stained glass windows, a priest sprinkling a baby’s lips with oil. This upsets Danny. He paces the living room as the baptism is intercut with violent images of Corleone enemies murdered. When mobster Moe Greene is shot through the eye, Danny covered his own eye and groaned.
“Should we turn it off,” I asked.
Danny nodded yes. I grabbed the remote and turned off the movie. Danny rocked back and forth on the couch.
“Are you okay,” I asked.
“How can they be Catholic and kill people?”
“Are you Catholic,” I asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t kill people.”
“It’s wrong to kill people, isn’t it?”
“Yes, if you’re Catholic. You’re supposed to be nice.”
“I’m glad I know you, Danny,” I said. “You‘re very smart.”
“I’m glad I know you too,” he said. He looked at me and smiled.
“Want to watch a different movie,” I asked.
“Yeah,” he yelled. He dove into the DVD collection and settled on a new film: The Exorcist. I’d definitely need more sweet potato pie for that one.
