Thursday Night at the Movies - ‘Green Book" - Red River Unitarian Universalist Church

Thursday Night at the Movies - ‘Green Book"

Apr 30, 2026 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

This month’s movie is ‘Green Book’.

Green Book is a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Farrelly. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, the film is inspired by the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by African-American pianist Don Shirley and Italian-American bouncer and later actor Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, who served as Shirley’s driver and bodyguard. Written by Farrelly alongside Lip’s son Nick Vallelonga and Brian Hayes Currie, the film is based on interviews with Lip and Shirley, as well as letters Lip wrote to his wife.^[4] It is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide book for African-American travelers founded by Victor Hugo Green in 1936 and published until 1966.

The Plot –

In the Bronx in 1962, Italian-American bouncer Tony Lip searches for new employment while the Copacabana is closed for renovations. He is invited to an interview with Don Shirley, an African American pianist in need of a driver for his eight-week concert tour through the Midwest and Deep South.

Don hires Tony on the strength of his references. They embark with plans to return to New York City on Christmas Eve. Don’s record label gives Tony a copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide for African American travelers that contains the addresses of those motels, restaurants, and filling stations that would serve them in the Jim Crow South.^[7]

Tony and Don clash as Tony feels uncomfortable being asked to act with more refinement, while haughty Don is displeased by Tony’s uncouth habits. As the tour progresses, Tony is impressed with Don’s talent on the piano and becomes increasingly appalled by the discriminatory treatment that Don receives from his hosts and the general public when he is not on stage.

The plot gets ALOT thicker!!

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkZxoko_HC0

Categories;

Film