perfection and their evolving relationship on the road makes the movie soar above the ordinary and become magical. Viggo and Ali in the main roles are remarkable, and it's funny and endearing to watch them discard stereotypes and discover their mutual humanity. What we liked best is the movie teaches without preaching, it all unfolds through a myriad of natural moments between two great actors and a strong supporting cast. Top all this off with a really good soundtrack, excellent direction and production values, and an audience that laughed out loud and vigorously applauded at the end...this one is a true 10!

that transcends many others of its type. Yes, there are Southern cops; yes, there are men's rooms that are off limits; yes, there are simplistic views of racism by white New Yorkers. But what I got was a realistic presentation of an evolving friendship. Shirley is abrasive and self-centered; Lip is clueless most of the time. And I believed in them. See this film.

age - this film is not 'preachy', but you should appreciate an honest portrayal of a difficult time & place in history. I'll use the term an "unlikely friendship", but knowing the two men were real makes it fantastic. I'm so grateful to have learned about them and their lives. I only wish there had been a Q&A afterward.

think this is largely because it's based on a real-life story about the beginning of a lifelong friendship - a story that has writing participation by the son of one of the real-life characters. There's definitely an air of authenticity to the events as they unfold that could never occur with a purely contrived plot. Consider: A college-educated concert pianist of Jamaican descent hires a temporarily-unemployed Italian-American nightclub bouncer who's streetwise but academically dim to drive him to venues in the Deep South back in 1962. That's not a setup that a Hollywood script written from scratch would ever have come up with.The two lead actors really click. Mahershala Ali makes a nice Oscar follow-up playing the aloof pianist passenger to Viggo Mortensen's "b.s. artist" driver. Ali is certain to get another nomination; Mortensen's performance may be a little too broad to garner one, but he delivers exactly what's called for. And he makes a believable Italian-American, which is impressive considering that he's Danish.I'm allergic to preaching and heavy-handedness in movies no matter what the message, and with the exception of one borderline scene, I'd say that the movie nicely sidesteps these proclivities that surface so often in socially-conscious films.The music and FX are excellent. When an actor plays a piano player, there's always the challenge of making the playing look believable. It doesn't get any better than it gets here - Ali's piano playing is every bit as convincing as Margot Robbie's ice skating in I, TONYA. You never see a disconnect between hands and body as he's filmed against a variety of backgrounds. And if I could bet on an Oscar win right now, it would be Kris Bowers for Best Original Score. He also supplies Ali's hands, which should clinch it. Top everything off with a Capra-esque Christmas Eve finale and a closing line that sends everyone home smiling, and it all adds up to a monster hit. Its commercial payoff could be huge - the movie practically begs for a TV series spinoff, and the real-life characters remained friends until they both died in 2013.So congratulations to Peter Farrelly on his graduation from co-directing lowbrow fare to solo-directing middlebrow i.e. mass-appeal fare. You can't deny the talent and craftsmanship it takes to make a mainstream movie that works as well as this one does.

satisfying endings of 2018. It leaves you with the hopeful thought that perhaps we're not there yet but that we are on our way. Happy New Year!

a bit and/or the 130 min run-time edited down to around 110 mins, this would have been a perfect 10 from me.Excellent drama and comedy perfectly positioned throughout the film.A well deserved 8/10 from me.

for a jazz pianist named Don Shirley. Initially, it is seen that the two come from different worlds and are at odds with each other but as time goes on and the two realize how different race relations are in the south, they begin to bond and become closer than they expected they would. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in the title roles.The film has a lot of laugh out loud moments. Especially through the eccentric nature of both leads. Whether its Tony's hard headed but uncultured nature or Don's particularities , the chemistry between the two is really off the charts. The film touches on many important concepts that still reverberate today, mainly in race relations and acceptance of sexuality. Farrelly and the real life son of Tony Lip do such a fine job writing a film that knows when to be funny and when to be serious.I think the performances from both leads is also fantastic. We are about done with the year and I don't really care what other people say this should be getting nominations is a few categories at the Academy Awards. Was really surprised at how good this film was, as the trailers don't really show off the true excellence that this film was capable of. Urge everyone to go see it, about as good as a buddy road film will be.8/10