Green Book (2018 movie) starring Mahershala Ali & Viggo Mortensen

The take on Louisville reminds me of Remember the Titans, where the Alexandria of the time was apparently portrayed as more Deep Southy and divided than the actual thing. I remember Tony Kornheiser observing much the same when the movie came out. In other words, Hollywood’s gonna Hollywood.

 

I liked this very much. Been a big Viggo fan for a long time, and the woman who played his wife it later came to me played one of Don Draper's lovers in Mad Men, that being the Sylvia Rosen character. She was also very good. So was the whole cast. Lots of great dialogue.

SOme of the reviews complain that the film (as I understand the criticism) was too simple and straightforward. Well, my own view is that understanding how stupid overt racism is is in fact pretty straightforward. But there is still a value in seeing it exposed. I also liked how it was a kind of different buddy film. Nothing wrong with that, either.

 

Very astute prediction!

Saw "Book" today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great chemistry between Ali and Mortensen, and the 130 minutes breezed by, as the movie offered a nice balance of comedy and drama.

That said, I don't think this is a "great film". It's too superficial and "easy", honestly - it's "Driving Miss Daisy" for the 21st century.

I do like the film but I wish it'd taken a more three-dimensional approach. This one traffics in cliches and tends to follow predictable paths...

 

Ha - I already wrote up my full review for the Blu-ray when it emerges, and I did describe Mortensen's performance as "cartoon goombah"!

Don't get me wrong - I really liked Mortensen in the film. But at times it feels like he thinks he's making a parody of a mob movie...

 

Yes. Don't make that mistake again!

 

Yeah, that bugged me. I can't relate to the era in "Book" because I wasn't alive, but I was around for the events of "Titans" - albeit young - and I lived close to Alexandria, so I know the area wasn't nearly as "redneck" as the film makes it out to be.

From my review:

"Titans makes Alexandria, Virginia out as some backwater southern burg. One of the first statements in the film relates that in our fair state, high school football is a virtual religion.

That may well be true for areas farther south, but make no mistake: Alexandria is in northern Virginia. Our region is very different from much of the rest of the state, as we’re a suburb of Washington, DC.

You’d never know that from Titans, which leads one to believe that Alexandria was a sleepy town far from anywhere. Fact: TC Williams High is 10 miles from the White House. At no point does the film let you know that you’re so close to the center of the nation, as it prefers to create an impression of the small-town south.

Alexandria was definitely less well-developed 45 years ago, but it wasn’t like this. I guess the filmmakers felt they needed to create a more isolated location for the movie to work. I don’t agree, but I was able to ignore the radical departure from geographical reality and enjoy the movie nonetheless."

 

Cardellini will always be Lindsay from "Freaks and Geeks" to me!

 

Sure, but then there are a lot of people who live their lives playing the part they think they are supposed to play - and this guy thinks he's supposed to be a goombah.

 

Yeah, I see that POV, but I don't think the film paints Tony as "playing a part". The guy we see is just who he is, and a product of his environment - he doesn't strike me as someone who hides the "real Tony" to fit in with his family/friends...

 

Yeah, but I got the impression that it was enough of an act for him to be redeemed. The bit with him throwing away the glasses was due to him knowing that was what his father's cultural programming expected.

 

But AFAIR, no one saw him throw away the glasses. Seems like there'd be no reason to put on a show when no one's watching...

 

There was a table full of family and friends in the living room with a view directly into the kitchen.

 

Yup. Somewhat OTT.

 

First thing I saw her in was Grandma's Boy and as great as she has been in other things, that's what I think of when I see her.

 

Sure, but the movie in no way indicated that they paid any attention to Tony's actions.

If the filmmakers intended to convey that Tony threw away the glasses, they would've used a reaction shot of his dad or whoever with a satisfied smile.

Unless I'm misremembering, as depicted in the film, Tony tosses the glasses in the trash without any signs anyone noticed.

It's sure a surprise to Dolores when she finds them there...

 

Wish they could have used Shirley's recordings. "Water Boy" was a top ten (I think) pop hit. Been a fan of the trio and attended a concert in Pasadena back when. Got my Cadence LP signed as he had a meet and greet after the show dressed in his colorful caftan. His actual apartment above Carnegie Hall was even more garish than that in the film.

 

Golden Globe winner for best picture, musical or comedy. Also best supporting actor for Ali and Best Screenplay.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, although I really liked the movie. I am confused by Ali being categorized as 'supporting' and also for the movie being a 'comedy' (it was extremely funny in parts, but I don't think that is an accurate category).

 

I really liked it. Great performances! And I ended up crying (maybe I'm too emotional...)

She's Nurse Sam from ER to me!

 

Cardellini should be "Velma Dinkley" to me, as I believe the first time I ever really noticed her was in the live-action "Scooby-Doo" from 2002.

"Freaks and Geeks" predates that movie, but I didn't see "F&G" until the DVDs came out in 2004, so I saw LC in "Scooby" first.

Actually, I guess I really first saw her in "Legally Blonde", but she plays an apparently small role and I have no memory of her from the film.

I never watched any incarnation of "ER"!

 

For the same reasons that a wealthy person today with his thousand dollar iPhone turns I disgusted to eye a homeless person asking for a change and telling themselves the begger is actually making $100,000 a year collecting change: Blind prejudice and a sense of entitlement and superiority.

 

It was a little more than that.

 

I'm thinking the recent controversies connected to Peter Farrelly have doomed the film's Oscar prospects.

Not saying it won't still get nominated, but I think the chances it wins Best Director or Best Picture dropped sharply given those developments. The Academy isn't gonna want to reward someone in "MeToo" territory...

 

Saw it. Loved it, but I did feel a little guilty because it's so hokey.

Everybody overacts, but Viggo is good at it -- He deserves Best Actor the same way Ernest Borgnine did for "Marty."

The film is just less manipulative than the worst Spielberg, but Viggo hammering away at the gabagool keeps reminding you it's for laughs and keeps things in check. The early film is by-the-book and flatly directed, but the road and the growing bond between the goombah and virtuoso wins you over and the message of brotherhood is delivered with dexterity by Farrelly so it goes down easy as home cooking.

In a WFT Blunder: The subplot of mob hit seems to vanish in an incomprehensible studio edit.
But a rousing Christmas dinner and the most predictable final line in history still feels good.

Had a great time.

Best movie> Could be.

But it shouldn't be.

Best take away: Nice to know you can have a face like Viggo and still look like **** with an extra forty pounds on.

fun, cute movie

8/10

 

Yep, and I think that’s precisely why those stories came out now.

Will Freddie Mercury fans stop at nothing to win?

 

I personally think its chances were already shot when the pianist's family said it wasn't accurate and they were never consulted. But this might drive the nail further in the coffin.