In the 90s, filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly were best known for their quirky and often low-brow comedies. Their first big hit was 1994’s Dumb and Dumber, which also helped launch Jim Carrey’s career into superstardom. They followed that up with Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary, the latter of which helped solidify Cameron Diaz’s career. The 2000s had its ups-and-downs for the brothers, with hits like Me, Myself, & Irene and bombs like Osmosis Jones. Unfortunately, the 2010s were not as kind to the brothers, ultimately leading to what many consider their worst, Movie 43. The two made somewhat of a comeback with the sequel Dumb and Dumber To, but clearly comedy wasn’t working anymore. Now, Peter has gone off on his own to direct a film that, while somewhat comedic, is surprisingly a drama. That film is the biographical comedy/drama, Green Book.
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In 1962 New York, Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) has unfortunately lost his job as a bouncer. While looking for work, he gets an invitation to meet a Don Shirley at Carnegie Hall. Turns out Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is a black pianist who is very well-spoken, classically-trained, and highly intelligent. He wants Tony Lip to be his driver as he goes on tour through the Midwest and the Deep South. Naturally, Tony has reservations about driving a black man through the Deep South, but he decides to take the job. This leads to a road trip where Tony and Shirley get to know one another and grow as people. Shirley even helps Tony with writing letters to his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini). Along the way, they have to contend with racism, prejudice, and class issues. Their journey will change them for the rest of their lives.
What makes the film work as well as it does is the two leads, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. Both have phenomenal chemistry with each other and play their roles as if they were the real people. It’s interesting seeing the contrast between Ali’s more soft-spoken eloquent personality and Mortensen’s more wise-guy street-wise attitude. Also, unlike most films of its kind, this is a film where both characters learn to change as people. Tony learns to maintain his dignity in the face of opposition, and Shirley learns to appreciate his race’s culture. This movie tackles several issues, whether it’s racism, prejudice, homophobia, cultural stereotypes, breaking down barriers, and being more accepting. While Mortensen and Ali certainly dominate the film, the supporting cast all do a good job with their given roles. Leaving aside the issues it deals with, this is just a really fun and heartfelt road movie.
If I do have any issues with the film, they’re very few and minor considering how spectacular this movie is. The only major issue I have is more of a tonal issue, namely how it goes between comedy and drama. At times, the movie doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be serious or be funny. Granted, both the comedic and dramatic scenes work really well, and the actors help make it work. Also, while the film tackles some pretty heavy issues, it never seems to go deep enough into those issues. There are scenes where an issue is addressed, only for it to be tossed aside and never mentioned again. I would go into the liberties taken with the story, but that’s the nature of true story movies. Overall, Green Book is fantastic film with a great story and two solid lead performances.
