Green Book

October, 1962. Italian-American Bronx native Tony Vallelonga--long called Tony Lip by those who know him for being able to BS his way out of anything--largely uses that ability to BS, his street smarts, and his fists to do his job in "customer relations" (i.e. a glorified bouncer) at the Copa, where he has to deal with well-dressed toughs and thugs, albeit with a smile and often without them knowing that he is screwing them. Like most of his Italian-American friends and family, he is a working-class bigot, as demonstrated by his actions concerning some Black laborers who did work in his and his wife Dolores' apartment. With the Copa closed for renovations until the New Year, Tony must find another job in the interim; while looking, he pawns some of the family's valuables (without telling Dolores) to keep food on the table for them and their two adolescent sons. When he is given the inside scoop on a job working for Dr. Don Shirley, not only does he not realize that the Dr. refers to his multiple Ph.D.s and that he is a classically-trained pianist and head of the popular-music-playing Don Shirley Trio) instead of a physician, but arguably most importantly that he is a well-educated, wealthy, refined Black man. The job is not only as chauffeur as Tony initially thought, but to be his all-expenses and well-paid general foot soldier, especially in the area of security, for the 8-week tour he has arranged for the trio with his record label, much of that tour in the Deep South (the last scheduled date being December 23rd in Birmingham, Alabama) hence the need for security because he's Black. Renegotiating the terms, learning that Dr. Shirley actually recruited him based on his reputation for being able to get the job done, and getting Dolores' OK as long as he makes it home for Christmas--or else--Tony accepts the job. Beyond the obvious hazards of the race-relations aspect once they get to the Deep South, they will not only have to get over their own differences as humans in their moral and ethical values to survive with each other for eight weeks, but also deal with the general role reversal of the uneducated white man being subservient to the well-educated Black man. Dr. Shirley has other issues in the Deep South.