This has turned into a very controversial film and I think a lot of that could have been avoided if the movie was marketed correctly. It wouldn't make it a better film but I think it could have at least been viewed for what it is (a mediocre buddy road trip) and not what was portrayed as in the title and promos (an intimate look at the harsh realities of life faced by African Americans in the Jim Crow era).
Tony "Lip" Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) is a bouncer at a nightclub. He's doing okay but when the club shuts down for renovations, he branches out in order to make ends meet. He receives a job offer from jazz pianist Dr. Donald Shirley (Mahershala Ali) to drive Dr. Shirley on his concert tour through the Midwest and South. Along the way, Tony is forced to confront some of his prejudices as well as outward oppression directed at Dr. Shirley.
Honestly, this isn't the worst movie I've ever seen. It's very much Tony Vallelonga's story, and while there is of course a place for his voice, it seems disingenuous to have marketed the film as being about Dr. Shirley or the eponymous Green Book, a literal life-saving publication. In the wake of groundbreaking films like Moonlight, a historical film about a successful, queer, African American musician would have been wonderful. Instead, comparisons are being made to Driving Miss Daisy, and it's not a good look in this the year of our collective embarrassment 2019.
Also, and this is purely me, I kind of don't get the fuss over Linda Cardellini in this film. Viggo Mortensen and Peter Farrelly both have heaped praise on her and sure? She's a good actress but there was nothing particularly compelling about her portrayal of Tony's wife.
Mahershala Ali was phenomenal, however, and definitely deserves that second Oscar.
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