Green Book
(2018)Inspired by a true friendship.
Winner of Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards, this road comedy-drama stars Viggo Mortensen as an Italian-American bouncer from the Bronx hired to drive a world-class concert pianist (Mahershala Ali, who won an Oscar here and for 2016's Moonlight) on a tour across the 1960s American South.... More
Confronted with racism and danger along the way, they must set aside their differences while relying on "The Green Book" to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Directed by Peter Farrelly (There's Something About Mary).Hide
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Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) & Original Screenplay, Academy Awards 2019; Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Performance (Mahershala Ali) & Screenplay, Golden Globes 2019; Grosch People's Choice Award (Farrelly), Toronto International Film Festival 2018
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Directed by Peter Farrelly ('Dumb and Dumber', 'There's Something About Mary', 'Dumb and Dumber To')
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Don Stark, Sebastian Maniscalco, Tom Virtue, Brian Stepanek, Joe Cortese
Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly
Flicks Review
BY Aaron Yap Flicks Writer
It’s 2019, and cinematic portrayals of racism, ideally, need to have progressed beyond the retrograde, broadly digestible lessons of Green Book. Following 2018's necessary incendiary punch of BlacKkKlansman and 2017's Get Out, the heart-warming, Oscar-bait packaging of Peter Farrelly’s film—based on a true story—almost smacks of fantasy.... More
That’s why I find myself surprised to have enjoyed this as much as I did, even recognising its approach to socially conscious storytelling has led at least one reviewer to describe it as the origin story of “how that racist guy who says ‘I’m not racist, I have a black friend’ met his black friend.”
Green Book is basically In The Heat of the Night repurposed as a Christmas stocking stuffer, decked out in cornball odd-couple, tit-for-tat laughs. The film entertains sufficiently on that level. As a close study of race politics, it’s idealised, overly glossy and goofy as all get out.
It doesn’t hurt that Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are an infectiously hammy hoot together. They bring some heft to a screenplay that’s primarily centred around contrasting buddy schtick: Mortensen’s Tony Lip, a Bronx-raised, burly nightclub bouncer re-examines his bigoted attitudes as he goes on the road in the Jim Crow-era South, chauffeuring black Steinway-pounding classical virtuoso Don Shirley (Ali), who in turn, comes to terms with the difficulties posed by his class status.
Yes, Green Book is far from a complicated act. But its cartoonish sincerity and beaming optimism make it an agreeable two-hour reprieve from a more serious, complex conversation—one that needs to start again immediately after the credits have rolled.Hide
The Peoples' Reviews
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Green Book
BY RachelB nobody
Great music and a fascinating story or two very different men on a challenging journey. I really enjoyed it.
BY christinec superstar
Riveting from beginning to end. Great paced movie that didnt have any slow spots. Great characters & excellent directing from Peter Farrelly who never disappoints with pace and story. Top notch acting from all key roles. Fascinating look into the times and differences between north & south USA
BY arlomclean superstar
Extremely cliche and generic but a nice watch none-the-less. Wish the direction was more exciting and the story defied more of the conventions I was wanting to break. Its worth checking out but nothing special.
BY flexible20 nobody
i really loved this films freshness about the trip of the black , negro american , and the italian american ,side by side as they go down south in the 1960s. it was a very honest and heart warming movie .with two very good and popular stars playing the leading roles . they make the film .
BY LoganLives lister
Showing 5 of 6 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
Distinctive and amusing turns by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali make Peter Farrelly's first solo feature outing a lively and likable diversion. Full Review
There's clearly a more nuanced drama to be made from this story but given the scale, there's still a lot here to praise. Full Review
Mortensen's role may be the showier of the two, but Ali is a marvel to watch in his musical performances. Full Review
"Green Book" is a savvy and super effective piece of popular entertainment. Full Review
Thanks to the dream team of Mortensen and Ali, both giving Oscar calibre performances, audiences will be rightly cheering this hilarious and heartfelt true story of a black musician and his racist driver on a 1960's tour of the Deep South. Full Review
There's not much here you haven't seen before, and very little that can't be described as crude, obvious and borderline offensive, even as it tries to be uplifting and affirmative. Full Review
The acting is better than the dialogue, which is better than the plotting. And I have to confess that in the current, insanely divisive political climate, I enjoyed Green Book's spoon-feeding mightily. Full Review
Producer and co-writer Nick Vallelonga – Tony's son – must be justifiably proud of getting his how-Dad-learned-to-stop-being-racist fable to the screen. But the greater evil of institutional and generational racism goes mostly ignored and unexamined. Full Review
It's charming, frequently funny and if you let your guard down it will melt your heart. Full Review
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