Why does David say to the guy Fat Moe he's "on his ass worse than ever" when he sees him running that cafe.
I mean... if you were that guy's age you could expect to be doing something like that right?
It doesn't seem the worst thing in the world. Maybe it's because that scene was set in the late 1960s before people became familiar with homelessness and disability the way we did in future decades
I think this line was included to primarily establish Noodles as being a cynic's cynic who often hides his emotions behind his abrasive personality
shareHe's saying it in the context of him thinking Moe had stolen the money - $1,000,000 in 1933 - he wouldn't still be running a bar in his old age if he'd had access to that kind of money.
Also last time Noodles saw him, in the 30's, the establishment took up the entire building and Moe had a house separately. Now he's had to sell his home and most of the building, leaving him with only the bar itself and a couple of small rooms where he has to live. I also get the impression (and I could be wrong) that he couldn't afford to lose the business or not to run it himself, could be operating at a loss etc,
So in the grand scheme of things, running a cafe/bar in the late 60s doesn't sound too bad. In the context of how much money/business they had in the 30s and that he might have stolen the million, it would be considered "on his ass".
Incidentally the early line that annoys me is when Eve asks "what are you gonna do to him"? Seriously?! What does she think they're gonna do to him?!