A fan-made end credits song for Green Book mocks the film’s Best Picture win. It’s no secret that director Peter Farrelly’s race relations dramedy did not have the smoothest campaign on the awards circuit. After winning the People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Green Book became embroiled in one controversy after another. Detractors dismissed the movie as a reverse Driving Miss Daisy with its antiquated approach to its subject matter, surviving members of Dr. Donald Shirley’s family blasted the film for its historical inaccuracies, and co-writer Nick Vallelonga deleted his Twitter account after an anti-Muslim post of his resurfaced.
Despite all that, Green Book was able to garner enough support in the Academy to take home the top prize. In the immediate aftermath, the decision has proven to be arguably the most contentious Best Picture verdict since Crash. Spike Lee was unable to hide his displeasure even as the announcement was made, and several people were quick to point to more deserving nominees, such as Roma, Black Panther, and Lee’s own BlacKkKlansman. As cinephiles try to make sense of how the Oscars went down, one person had a bit of fun imagining all it took was a catchy tune.
Demi Adejuyigbe posted a video on YouTube that showcases a fan-made end credits song for Green Book, performed in the style of Morrissey. You can listen to it for yourself in the space below:
Sung from the perspective of Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (played by Viggo Mortensen in the film), the song is a very entertaining summation of the criticisms lobbied against Green Book. The lyrics call attention to elements like the infamous fried chicken scene and the simple nature of Tony’s character arc, where all it took was a paid road trip through the South to cure his longstanding personal prejudices against black people. It’s actually quite fitting the track is presented from Tony’s point-of-view, since viewers took issue with the script’s undermining of Shirley’s character in order to focus more on Vallelonga’s transformation. Some felt Green Book was the latest example of the tired “white savior” trope and marginalized the significance of its titular publication.
Even though Green Book has its share of fans and defenders, the general consensus in the wake of the Oscars is that the film’s win will age poorly, especially considering the fellow nominees it defeated and the quality of movies that didn’t even score a Best Picture nod. In many ways, Green Book feels like the product of a completely different era in Hollywood, and it was surprising to see it earn Best Picture in 2019. Recently, the Academy has bestowed its top honor to the likes of Moonlight and The Shape of Water, which suggested the Academy was evolving and the idea of what an “Oscar movie” could be had changed. The Academy’s definitely made some strides, but Green Book’s win demonstrates traditional Oscar bait can still go all the way.
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Source: Demi Adejuyigbe
