I saw Green Book back in August, so it's interesting to read everybody's takes now. It's also equally interesting to see Universal push it so heavy for awards season.
#GreenBookMovie's original sin is the title. There's literally NO reason for it to be called Green Book in the first place AND that sets it up for failure b/c audiences will expect a film about the The Negro Motorist Green Book. It's not.
The second biggest flaw is that while it may be based on a true story, it's written like the screenwriter doesn't actually know any Black people besides Don Shirley (Mahershala's character), who admits his Black experience has been atypical.
To be clear, both Mahershala and Vigo do what they do--act their asses off--but the film isn't about Don Shirley, IMO, it's about Tony Vallelonga, which makes sense because it was written by Nick Vallelonga, Tony's real life son.
So in #GreenBook, Tony is the one who undergoes the biggest transformation--from a racist New Yorker who throws away glasses from a pair of Black plumbers who come to fix his since, to Dom's homeboy.
Dom just becomes less of a recluse. And has fried chicken for the first time
Dom just becomes less of a recluse. And has fried chicken for the first time
Which was another place I called BS in the film. You mean to tell me this grown grown Black JAMAICAN man never had fried chicken OR heard Aretha Franklin and Little Richard's music before...in his life?
Strip away the title & actually put some Black writers on the team and #GreenBook could have been an AUTHENTIC story about two men who are struggling w/ their own sense of self to forge an unlike friendship. I mean, that's what the film ultimately tells, but how we get there?
That said #GreenBook will probably get lots of nominations this award season because it's a film that makes white viewers feel good--they can go from pretty racist to welcoming a genius Black musician into their home in 2 hours flat.
If you're interested, here are Black folks writing about #GreenBook:
@battymamzelle called it "a film about a racist white man making a black friend because he is suddenly given a financial stake in that man’s well-being."
themuse.jezebel.com/green-book-is-…
@battymamzelle called it "a film about a racist white man making a black friend because he is suddenly given a financial stake in that man’s well-being."
themuse.jezebel.com/green-book-is-…
The homie @BrookeObie wondered, "When will Hollywood stop centering white people in Black stories? If the much-lauded Peter Farrelly film 'Green Book' is any indication, no time soon."
shadowandact.com/green-book-fil…
shadowandact.com/green-book-fil…
