GREEN BOOK Review — A Road Trip Like No Other
Green Book Review — Based on a true story, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh, you’ll love.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Southern United States prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “The Negro Motorist Green Book” often shortened to simply the “Green Book,” was originally published by New York City mailman Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1966, when segregationist Jim Crow laws existed.
Green’s intention was to “give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trip more enjoyable.” It let African Americans know in which establishments they could safely spend the night, eat a meal, make purchases, etc. And it covered the entire nation, not just the south.
With that information, you can better appreciate the infinite finesse of writer/director Peter Farrelly, who based one of the year’s best films on the true story of two unlikely travel companions using that book to navigate both a road trip and a tentative relationship.
Viggo Mortensen is sublime as Tony Lip, a bouncer from a large and loud Italian-American family in the Bronx. Lip is hired to drive the very prim and proper Dr. Donald Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a world-class pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan through the Deep South, with the Green Book as their guide. Both actors are sure to get Oscar nods for their stellar work.
To say their relationship is spiky at first is an understatement. While Tony Lip chauffeurs, Dr. Shirley teaches him grammar, manners, and an appreciation for culture. Meanwhile, Tony Lip induces Dr. Shirley to taste his first fried chicken and to be comfortable with himself and others in a way he’d never been able to manage alone.
There is pain and there is pleasure. There is laughter and there are tears. There is an unmistakable message delivered with such humor, elegance, pathos and grace that you’re sure to find Green Book on your list of the year’s best. Don’t miss it.
Rated PG-13
2 Hours 10 Minutes
If, after reading this Green Book review you’re eager to see it, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.
Green Book Review — Based on a true story, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh, you’ll love.
