GREEN BOOK: A Spoonful Of Sugar

The high-profile changes to the academy were explicitly intended to change the films that dominate awards season conversation, and the crop of films we’ve seen in the last few years are already reflecting these efforts. Safe, feel-good takes on history are no longer easy nominees, instead having to navigate a minefield of critiques about their simplicity. The blind spot in previous conversations was that these movies were designed to feel good to the particular demographics that made up the academy, and since the group has diversified, there’s few places for such targeted films.

Hangovers from times gone by still exist, though, like the soft lob that is Green Book. It’s got all the hallmarks of a movie that would’ve dominated awards season five or ten years ago: it’s based on a true story, features respected actors doing flashy performances, and takes on a large social problem without placing much blame. And frankly, it’s not shy about being exactly this type of film, wearing its affability proudly and without a hint of shame.

Following the renowned musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his driver/bodyguard Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) as they tour the deep south in the 1960s, the film takes an earnest approach to their buddies-overcoming-racism antics. Yeah, it’s that simplistic, but it’s hard to dismiss Green Book entirely because it does its thing so well. Its target demographic (which I mostly fall into) are being played like a fiddle, much like Shirley plays his audience throughout the film.

Core Excellence

The pieces of Green Book are so delightful that they mask its faults by pummeling you with niceness. Sure, you know intellectually that the film isn’t any mark of progress, but Ali and Mortensen seem to be having such a good time and the film bounds along with such a tight pace that it will eke forgiveness out of all but the most hardened against the genre.

Mortensen in particular is hamming it up here, bringing a broad stereotype to his proudly Italian-American character. He’s a tough guy and an opportunist. You know the kind of loud bravado I’m talking about, and Mortensen takes every opportunity to fill the screen with his physical and mental girth.

Ali has a bit less to work with, but the lack of personal moments with his character only emphasizes how much he brings to an underwritten part. He keys in on the suffocatingly controlled nature of Shirley with every small gesture, which pays off in the few riveting moments that the facade lifts and Shirley is exposed.

But pointing out that Mortensen and Ali are solid is what’s expected; the real surprise here is director Peter Farrelly, who’s best known for comedies like Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. Heading an Oscar bait movie is not his usual thing, and the fact that he shapes this into a relatively lean road trip movie with beats that hit just so is borderline shocking.

The Target Audience

So yeah, it’s a very well-made film, but the question that immediately crops up is whether we need (or should have) this film at all. It takes no serious look at racism or classism, both of which get a lot of lip service but very little nuance. The film is more interested in simplifying matters, clearly pointing out what is right and wrong and gently assuring you that right will eventually prevail.

The problem is, of course, that none of that is true, and these things persist to this day in both obvious and subtle ways. The more insidious thing, though, is the way the film is structured, giving nearly equal screen time to its two main characters but quite obviously favoring Lip as an audience surrogate for white, straight people (Shirley was not straight in addition to being black, which is why he has so much fun in the South).

To say Green Book panders is to put it lightly. There are entire scenes where Shirley’s motivations are explained to Lip and by proxy the audience. The same is not done for Lip’s motivations, which the film trusts us to understand intuitively. The coding for who their expected audience will be is clear, and as Lip learns, grows, and eventually loves Shirley for who he is, it becomes such an icky case of hinging the film on a white, straight person accepting a black, queer person that it’s sure to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The Ethics Of It All

So do we need a reassuring, simplistic film about overcoming barriers in today’s world? That’s an answer only you can provide for yourself, and unfortunately the film deals so blatantly with it that your answer will likely be the make or break issue by which you evaluate the film.

For me, I give it a pass because I think most of western culture has lost ground when it comes to race, class, and sexuality. We do need films that deal with the complexity of these issues, but we also need things that soften the hard divides that have formed. One of the faults of any democracy is the tyranny of the majority, so if the majority isn’t appealed to, then progress won’t really be made. In the film, Shirley understand this, and the mission of the whole trip is to appeal to the majority. In many ways, Green Book is pulling the same stunt, and whether that was intentional or not, its sweetness can help prepare people for more rigorous works.

Green Book: The Most Pleasant Piece Of The Puzzle

Green Book is an easygoing film about difficult issues, and that dichotomy will rub many people the wrong way. Others will be charmed by it, especially if you can forgive its glaringly problematic aspects. The comic timing and openheartedness that Farrelly imbues the film with goes a long way towards getting you on its side, and if nothing else, at least Mortensen and Ali get to revel in showy roles.

What did you think of Green Book? Were you able to enjoy it or did problems nag you along the way? Let us know in the comments!

Green Book is in theaters now in the US and will open in the UK on February 1st, 2019. For international release dates, click here.