Peter Farrelly's "The Green Book" A Black Pianist and His White Driver Navigate through the Color Divide

Peter Farrelly the director/screenwriter who gave us "Something about Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber," comes the film "The Green Book" based on the events of Dr. Don Shirley's life, a black pianist prodigy while touring the Jim Crow south during the early 60s with his driver & protector Tony "Lip" Vallelonga,  a white bouncer.  This is not your silly slapstick comedy that Farrelly is well known for, nor is it a sermonizing film about the brutal & ridiculous racist regulations during the segregated south.  The main messaging came from Don "You never win with violence." The shift of the movie is geared in the burgeoning friendship between 2 very different men who come to respect, admire and empathize with the social constraints they both must cope.  At the start of the tour, Don admonishes Tony who chose to remain outside shooting craps with the other black drivers. "These men had no choice but you did."  Prof. Shirley chose to tour the Deep South to confront with dignity the absurdity & abhorrent treatment of blacks.  Tony harbors racial prejudice although he bullshits Don that working for a black wouldn't pose a problem because his biggest problem is earning money for his family.  The credible & entertaining film is co-written by Farrelly and Tony's son Nick Vallelonga.  The title The Green Book" is derived from "The Negro Motorist Green Book" which indicated establishments that permitted blacks to stay or dine.  The genres bridge a buddy road trip with social epiphanies of an expansive world that offers immense beauty and harsh realities.  The two outstanding leads Don (Acad. Award winner Mahershala Ali "Moonlight") and Tony (Viggo Mortenson "Lord of the Rings") continuously drive this movie with high energy and strong sentiments.  Stereotypes and generalizations are seen through several lenses and a rear view mirror. Tony's laughable disbelief that Tony had never heard "his people's" music (Franklin, Cooke & Lil Richie) or ever eaten fried chicken are disproportionately offset by the humiliations (separate bathrooms, lodgings & oppressive restrictions) Don endures on a daily basis.  Music is another major aspect in the film that's inspiring as it represents the indomitable human spirit. (Did anyone notice the Carnegie Hall billboard for Bob Dylan & Pete Seeger?)  The silent scene where black sharecroppers stopped and stare at Don in his finery driven by a white man and Don's registering of their disparity spoke volumes.  The injustice & degradation of Don as a black man is keenly felt as well as Tony's awakening righteous indignation.  Neither is Don blind or uncaring of Tony's limited education & world view.  The symbiotic relationship between these two strong characters is magnificent to behold as each curves compassionately in the direction of the other.