A stronger screenplay and more sensitive direction would have made this movie into something far more genuinely uplifting than it is.
Talk to Me (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:119
Fresh:96
Rotten:23
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: A riveting look at the life of legendary DJ "Petey" Greene, Talk to Me goes beyond the typical biopic with explosive performances from Don Cheadle and Chiwetal Ejiofor.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for pervasive language and some sexual content
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:23-11-2007
Synopsis: Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle portrays the one and only Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr.; Petey's story is funny, dramatic, inspiring – and real. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C.,... Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle portrays the one and only Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr.; Petey's story is funny, dramatic, inspiring – and real. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C., vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. It was the place and time for Petey to fully express himself – sometimes to outrageous effect – and "tell it like it is." With the support of his irrepressible and tempestuous girlfriend Vernell (Taraji P. Henson), the newly minted ex-con talks his way into an on-air radio gig. He forges a friendship and a partnership with fellow prison inmate Milo's (Mike Epps) brother Dewey Hughes (double Golden Globe Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor). From the first wild morning on the air, Petey relies on the more straight-laced Dewey to run interference at WOL-AM, where Dewey is the program director. At the station, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing even the established popularity of his fellow disc jockeys, Nighthawk (Cedric The Entertainer) and Sunny Jim (Vondie Curtis Hall). Combining biting humor with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for station owner E.G. Sonderling (Emmy Award winner Martin Sheen). Petey was determined to make not just himself but his community heard during an exciting and turbulent period in American history. As Petey's voice, humor, and spirit surge across the airwaves with the vitality of the era, listeners tune in to hear not only incredible music but also a man speaking directly to them about race and power in America like few people ever have. Through the years, Petey's "The truth just is" style --- on – and off-air – would redefine both Petey and Dewey, and empower each to become the man he would most like to be. -- © Focus Feature [More]
Starring: Don Cheadle, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson
Starring: Don Cheadle, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Martin Sheen, Vondie Curtis Hall
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Screenwriter: Michael Genet, Rick Famuyiwa
Story: Michael Genet
Producer: Mark Gordon, Sidney Kimmel, Joe Fries, Josh McLaughlin
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Studio: Focus Features
Reviews for Talk to Me
The movie is decent enough, but contains Greene's story in a sentimentalised career arc.
This biopic of Greene, a DJ most Brits will not know, has a limited appeal.
Poignant and often very funny, Cheadle deserves a clutch of prizes come awards season.
If the picture doesn’t ultimately live up to the raw vitality of Cheadle’s performance, it remains an uplifting snapshot that broadcasts its message with zero distortion. Tune in and you won’t be turned off.
A traditionally handsome biopic bursting with 1960s period detail and firecracker performances, Talk To Me tackles one of the most volatile periods in American history, but tragically finds nothing interesting to say about it.
The incendiary soundtrack and committed performances keep the film in its groove, which could give Cheadle another well-deserved shot at an Oscar.
Thanks to its two leads, the film remains vivid, honest and deeply felt.
There’s terrific chemistry between the leads, but an episodic structure set over 20 years is too sprawling to really allow for a connection.
unusually for a biopic, it is Petey's failure to change, from beginning to end, that forms an essential part of his lionisation.
This film's slightly uneven structure is easily overcome by the exceptional cast.
Talk to Me is an incisive portrait of a provocative figure. It comes very close to caricature, but remains human and lively.
Just as she did in Hustle and Flow, Taraji P. Henson steals many a scene and is wonderful as Greene's flamboyant girlfriend.
Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor make a terrific duo, first as enemies, then as colleagues and finally as partners %u2013 until the partnership self destructs.
A good movie about a powerful friendship, and it brings a bygone era back to life.
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October 26, 2007:
CameraCinemas.com: The film captures the euphoric and daring, rebel music drenched energy that fueled radio culture back then, while also tuning in to the organic intensity of the times. ![]()
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