When the Oscars handed Best Picture to Green Book, the filmic equivalent of saying “I don’t see color,” it was widely seen a goof on the order of Crash winning the same in 2006. Awards shows are stupid, sure, and the Oscars reliably get things wrong in silly and self-conscious ways. But you could at least hold out hope that pollyannaish race-relations shlock wouldn’t be rewarded twice in the span of Carmelo Anthony’s career, especially when Roma is sitting right there. It was all very funny and a little embarrassing. Unless, of course, you fell into The Green Book’s target demographic, and are a 64-year-old man from Long Island, like Mike Francesa.
Here’s what Screen Actors Guild voter Mike had to say a few weeks ago about his favorite movie of 2018. After a few staccato “Ma”s, he bravely pronounced Mahershala Ali’s name in full, instead of aborting the mission and just going with “Kawtney Lee.”
FRANCESA: Ma. Ma. Ma. Mah. Maher-shalla. Maher-shalla-mah Ali, I think it is, how you would say it. [With renewed vigor] Mah-hair-shalla. Ali for supporting actor. And Viggo Mortensen for leading actor. Green Book, by far, hands down, by a mile, best movie I saw this year, hands down, one of the best movies I’ve seen in years.
Francesa relished Mortensen’s performance as a guy “as Italian as Italian could be.” He also enjoyed Ali’s turn as a black musician who, as it turns out, “not only is he highly cultured, but he’s also gay, he’s hiding the fact that he’s gay.”
“My brother John told me about it first he said you gotta see Green Book,” he added, summing up the audience for the film.
In general Mike seemed disillusioned by the big dance, but held out hope for his little Cinderella. He had plenty of reasons to knit his brow. Rami Malek is a tough out, after all.
At least he handled his disappointment gracefully:
And was validated in the end:
Congrats to literally only Mike Francesa and his brother John.