Green Book

Writer/Producer/Director Peter Farrelly’s Green Book is one of the cinematic delights of the fall.

Set in 1962 and based on a true story, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian-American bouncer at New York’s Copacabana, is hired to drive African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a two-month pre-Christmas tour of America’s Southern States.

Though the main characters go together like water and oil, thanks to the excellent performances of Mortensen and Ali and a super script by Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga and Brian Hayes Currie, Green Book is one of the best road movies in years.

Shirley, who lives in a penthouse above Carnegie Hall, is subjected to the sometimes squalid Southern motels and restaurants, while entertaining some of the wealthiest families in the South. 

Note that the Green Book was a pamphlet detailing where “coloureds” were allowed to eat or stay in the South.  A charming time in our Nation’s past. Not.

Green Book is a must-see triumph. I give it a 4.8 out of 5.