Film: Green Book

GENRE: Biography, Comedy, Drama

RATING: PG-13 for language and some violence
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 10 minutes

STARRING: Viggo Mortensen (LOTR, Captain Fantastic, The Road)

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Luke Cage), Linda Cardellini (ER)

DIRECTOR: Peter Farrelly (Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, Fever Pitch)

WRITERS: Brian Hayes Currie (newcomer) &

Peter Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal)

PLOT: A bouncer becomes the driver of an African-American pianist on tour of the American South in the 1960s.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I enjoyed the trailer (KFC scene particularly).

STORY STUFF: A great road trip movie. Checks all the boxes: growing friendship, car trouble, hotel issues, police involvement, etc. While I’m always disgusted with humanity when I see such blatant racism displayed in film, it’s unfortunate that I’ve seen these types of scenes before. I did enjoy Ali’s mini-speech in the rain though. I also thoroughly enjoyed the KFC scene.  

ACTING STUFF: You could tell that Mortensen was having a lot of fun with his role. Sure, he went a bit overboard with the Italian-American stereotype but it worked for some reason. Ali is always a treat to watch. He has this naturally charisma that just jumps off the screen.  

ARTISTIC STUFF: Nothing really profound about the cinematography or editing. The music choices worked and didn’t depend on the usual road trip classics. I actually really enjoyed Mahershala Ali’s costumes. Such bold choices at times. I would never wear that but am impressed with those with the confidence to pull them off.

VERDICT: Three and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like road trip movies and aren’t racist.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Golden Globes recap