Convict Radio

There are few actors who seem to have roles in movies that I like. Don Cheadle happens to be one of them. I know if I see a trailer and it looks a little suspect and at the very end it says “Starring Don Cheadle” I’ll say “Hmmm doesn’t look half bad” The first time I can remember seeing him was on Hanging With Mr. Cooper. If I think about it, the first time I really saw him was when he played Rocket in the movie Colors. From then on it just seemed like a string of movies that I enjoyed Rosewood, Out Of Sight, Family Man, Traffic, Swordfish, Oceans 11., The Assassination Of Richard Nixon, Crash, Hotel Rwanda and now Talk to Me. This has to be one of the best movies I’ve seen this summer. Anything is better than Pirates of the Caribbean (yes I’m still bitter)

Talk To Me is based on the life of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene (Don Cheadle) who was an ex-con turned radio personality in the D.C area. The movie follows Petey as he leaves prison and lands a job as the morning DJ at WOL-AM. Petey is given the job by Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is in search for new talent to compete with a rival radio station.

During the film you see how Petey spoke to the people, for the people. It reminds me of one of my friend EJ landed job on ESPN to talk about sports. I could see him being completely bias to the Yankees, Lakers, and Barry Bonds. He would completely ignore Hockey, Soccer and Tennis. Petey’s story reminded me of sort of voice that’s missing today. He was a voice on the airways who wasn’t concerned about ratings, sponsors, or the FCC. He just wanted to “tell it like it is”. He wanted to talk about race the way people talked behind closed doors. He wanted to bring up topics that were on people’s hearts and were just too afraid to discuss. People didn’t just tune in to hear the great soul music he would play, but to hear what Petey had to say. 9 times out of 10 they felt the same way.

You don’t just see Petey as this great libertarian, you also get a chance to see his faults and how that had influence on his life. The same traps that our celebrities run into today. Alcohol, women, more alcohol, and more women.

One of the great storylines of the movie was Petey’s relationship with Dewey. Two men with different ways of doing things, but the same heart for the people. The movie does a great job of depicting their relationship as Petey goes from convict to radio icon.

This movie also has a wonderful, humorous performance from Taraji P Henson as Vernell, Petey’s girlfriend. Her hilarious outburst and even more hilarious choice of clothes really give the movie that extra laugh to help you swallow some of the seriousness in the film.

Talk To Me is a great film. Although it doesn’t fit with the rest of the Summer Blockbusters we’ve seen, it’s well worth the price of admission. It’s better than most movies I’ve seen this summer. I’m hoping this movie inspires some people to speak up and speak out like Petey did.

My suggestion: Go see it. If not for Don Cheadles performance at least for Petey’s story and for some of the movies funny moments.

My Grade: 3.5 – Keep it up. Maybe your parents will buy you a new car…………..or at least say they will to keep you working hard in school.