Green Book

Yet Farrelly and his cast deliver the cliches with such sincerity and good cheer that the film won me over anyway.

An enthusiastic and well-intentioned but ultimately clichéd approach is abundantly evident in the final product.

Green Book is a glib, caricatured and insensitive movie that reduces an enduring, dangerous societal problem to a calculated fable with a happy ending. [Full review in Japanese]

Is it a feel-good charmer poised to rake in greenbacks and Oscar gold? You bet! But don't let that keep you away from this overall well balanced (and timed) look forward from the safe distance of America's motley past.

While Green Book is one of the lesser films to bear the Farrelly imprimatur, it can be appreciated for its role in revealing so nakedly the rules of the prestige picture sweepstakes.

The screenplay essentially turns Shirley into a black man who thematically shapeshifts into whoever will make the story appealing to white audiences - and that's inexcusable.

The score and editing are not memorable at all, with some scenes just feeling out of place, and a soundtrack that feels too on the nose at times.

Green Book tells the story of the friendship between the renowned pianist and composer Don Shirley, and his driver and bodyguard Tony “Lip” Vallelonga in the sixties. The different cultures and social classes will be the main focus of the action.

An enjoyable buddy flick with strong performances from Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen, it’s a shame the plot ends up being so passé – as well intentioned and entertaining as it is.

Despite good intentions, a promising scenario and fine performances, “Green Book” is the latest version of Hollywood’s “Great White Savior” movie.