With the sole exception of journalist friends, I have not met a single “normal” moviegoer that saw “Green Book” and didn’t fall for its charms. If you noticed, last year I was crusading, defending if you will, Peter Farrelly’s film, on a daily basis, because I blocked all the toxic hysteria and saw the film for what it truly was: A crowd-pleaser of the highest order that audiences would absolutely adore. I was also defending it for what it wasn’t, especially since most supposedly progressive-minded film critics decided to shoot darts at it for not accurately portraying race relations in America. The terms “white savior” and “magical negro” were used to disavow the film.
I recently spoke to my next door neighbor, who had just seen “Green Book,” she’s a hardocore Hilary Clinton supporter with a bunch of “resist” and “love conquers all” stickers all over her car. You know, one of those types. She, of course, fell in love with Farrelly’s movie, telling me that she had no idea the titular book even existed until she saw the movie. I didn’t either, which is another informative bit of history the film brought to the forefront of the conversation. I then asked her “what about the controversy?” What did she think of all the complaints and Op-eds that were written, basically condemning the film as racist and inauthentic to the actual experience of living black in America? “Controversy?” she bewilderingly replied, “I didn’t know there was controversy, all I know is that there scenes that made me cry because they were a painful reminder of a time when America would actually allow these racist things to happen.”
if there ever was a year when film critics were drastically out of step with mainstream moviegoers it was most definitely 2018. Other films that nabbed incredible audience scores (including on CinemaScore and IMDB) but failed to connect with film critics included “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” It was a devastating year for film criticism, one which may very well have serious repercussions for audience trust and attention into the art of professionals judging a movie’s quality.