Green Book: A Road Trip With Aragorn and Boggs

The only roles I know from Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are the ones based on best-selling book trilogies. For Mortensen its his well-known portrayal of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings; before his Oscar win in Moonlight, I knew Ali as Boggs in Mockingjay: Part One and Two. There was also Witness (Mortensen's debut movie role) and Hidden Figures (the same year Ali was in Moonlight) but other than that, these were the only movies I've seen these actors in. Now the two star together in a buddy road trip with a surprising amount of heart and facts behind this unlikely friendship.

One is a loner the other bodyguard.
Talk about role-reversal.  

Set in 1962, Mortenson plays Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga, a former New York bouncer searching for another job. Hearing of his resilient reputation he is hired by well-renowned pianist Dr. Don Shirley, played by Ali, to be his personal chauffeur as he hold's a concert tour down the deep south. After a rocky introduction between the brash and talkative Tony and the reserved and urbane Don, the two begin the trip and learn a few things from each other on a cultural and personal level.

I like it when filmmakers take risks and in this case, comedic directors doing something outside their usual genre. Whether its Adam Mckay going from Will Ferrell comedies (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers) to the Oscar nominated drama The Big Short or Peyton Reed going from Bring it On and Yes Man to Ant-Man, and Ant-Man & the Wasp. Now we have Peter Farrelly, known for making gross-out comedies with his brother Bob like Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary, going solo in his first drama movie.

The story is penned by Farrelly, Brian Hayes Currie, and Tony's son Nick Vallelonga, who has always wanted to make this movie but at the request of his dad and the real Dr. Shirley, it was to be made until after they died. Both men passed away in 2013 just months away from each other with Tony on January 4th and Dr. Shirley on April 6th. A true testament to their friendship even at death.

Green Book is a feel-good road trip movie that balances its comedic and serious elements well-enough, though some may not agree with the movie's lighthearted take on racism having had films like BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give and Sorry to Bother You earlier this year handle the topic with more grit. It may not be at that level of realism but on the other hand with everything on the news from assault and other forms of mistreatment and even killings, I'm open for movies to continue encouraging communication, understanding and acceptance of our fellow man regardless of color or race. It reverses the White man savior troupe with Dr Shirley changing Tony to be a better man and Tony standing by him when the pianist deals with any sort of discrimination.

As stated before, the performances are top notch with both leads as award contenders, including Linda Cardellini as Tony's wife Dolores, who I knew best as Velma in the live-action Scooby-Doo movie but has recently gotten better roles from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Gravity Falls and The Founder. A definite contender for Best Screenplay. It would be a first for its screenwriters, with Farrelly's background in comedies, and Currie and Vallelonga who mostly work as actors and this being their first writing project for a major studio. Keep an eye open for these two as they both have cameos with Currie as a state trooper near the end and Vallelonga as a Hot dog eater. For fans of the Disney sitcom The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Brian Stepanek who played the wacky inventor Arwin, gets a chance to display his acting skills that had me surprised.

Green Book is a definite crowd-pleaser that will have you leaving with some sense of hope for humanity.

Final Verdict: A-