Talk to Me

Talk to Me-360P

Don Cheadle and C. Ejiofor are excellent in this biopic of Petey Greene, a Virginia con who transformed himself into one of the most influential radio talk personalities of the '60s and '70s. Their chemistry together is unbelievable and worthy of an Oscar. For those who have been depicting this as "a black movie" - it simply wasn't...just like "Selena" was a Latino movie, "Joy Luck Club" wasn't an Asian movie and "The Godfather" isn't an Italian-American movie (all of these movies are so good they transcend race and ethnicity). I watch them over and over again because they're GOOD - not because I believe to one of the ethnic groups. All of this being said, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The dialogue is a bit spicy at times but I felt it was appropriate because the dialogue was authentic (men drink and swear in pool halls and life doesn't always have squeaky clean, neatly packaged moments). In 2008, I'll be cheering for Cheadle and Ejiofor to get an Oscar!

Great acting, interesting character development, good music. The re-creation of MLK's assassination, and the outpouring of stunned sadness, almost disbelief, then outrage, and destruction, was totally accurately portrayed (as I remember the event in Chicago). It was so realistic that I found it difficult to relive through the movie. This film should receive millions of awards. I hope that instead of just focusing on the dress styles and music of this era, people will get an idea of the actual historical events and the impact it had on people then. It was interesting to me to know that it based upon actual people in D.C.

Petey will be talking to me a few more times this year...I will buy this movie and watch it many times...its inspiring, comedic, emotional, dramatic...basically its a movie that you can sit back and enjoy. It has all the elements a good movie needs. Don Cheadle is the man who carries the movie on this back. His spontaneous ways, his charm, his comedic timing, his voice-tone are all worth praising. I don't know much about the real Petey Greene but after watching this movie I know I wouldn't mind youtubing him up or googling him up. The Martin Luther King angle in the film is so well handled. You can feel the pain the city and the brothas n sistas felt during that period. Director Kasi has done a marvelous job handling this movie. She did her research and didn't try portraying Petey as an icon nor a god. The screenplay is excellent in this movie. Chiwetel also gives an good performance here. He has a meaty role and he sinks his teeth right into it. The man is very good in the dramatic, emotional scenes. Taranji is electrifying. I think she should get lead roles just like Halle Berry's and Hilary Swank's. I'm not comparing here, but with her talent I think Taranji deserves more. As for now she is really doing good in her smaller roles. Once again...this movie is off the hook...its black...but it doesn't have to be...it depends how you view the subject...but Petey's story should not be missed...so it don't matter what color you are...just go and see the damn movie man.

I wanted to stop watching during the first 30 minutes due to boredom, but kept at it given the good reviews. I have mixed feelings about having continued. The strength of the movie consists of the clever dialog of "Petey Greene" and the fact that it is a historic biopic. Don Cheadle (Petey Greene) and Chiwetel Ejiofor do great jobs of acting, but the characters weren't really interesting. In fact, Petey Greene was mostly annoying and unpleasant to watch. I think the only thing I will take away from the movie are a few key bits of good dialog. The comments he made on the radio and at a rally after Martin Luther King was shot were interesting to hear. If you want to calm a city of full of anger and violence, his brief speeches (whether they were real speeches he gave or not) were pretty great. If you can just watch that segment (less than 15 minutes total), you might be better off than watching the whole thing.

"I'll tell it to the hot, I'll tell it to the cold. I'll tell it to the young, I'll tell it to the old. I don't want no laughin', I don't want no cryin', and most of all, no signifyin'. This is Petey Greene's Washington." Petey Greene Petey Greene was as big in radio in the mid-to-late 60's as Howard Stern in the 90's only Greene was much more powerful an advocate for and influence over minorities that Stern ever even thought to be. Stern himself admits to Petey's groundbreaking DJ persona, speaking truthfully from the heart. Talk to me smartly chronicles Greene's astounding rise to national prominence as a Washington, D.C. black advocate, whose only limitation dramatically is that in the end his career and life ended pathetically as a result of hubris and misunderstanding. Don Cheadle as Petey and Chiwetel Ejiofor as his "Mr. Tibbs" manager, Dewey Hughes, are the acting team of the year, initially despising each other, needling each other to be more than they are, comforting each other in down times, and ultimately responsible for the major successes and failures of their lives. All this with barely a scene overplayed. Even after Martin Luther King's death, when Petey the ex-con DJ goes on the air to help mitigate the destructive revenge of blacks in D.C., Cheadle underplays effectively. The limitation of Talk to Me is that the story has been told many times before, the typical rise and fall of a star, even though it may be true. In this case it is, and the last third of the film suffers from a clichéd depiction of Petey's degeneration and death, both of which are not half as interesting as his rise to stardom. That he struggled with alcohol his whole life, never became comfortable with stand up comedy or TV talk show hosting, and ominously coughed for cancer are not interesting parts of his life, albeit accurate and dominant in his decline. However, his failure on his only appearance on the Tonight Show is a memorable caution about being something you are not, being forced into a role not meant for you. Dieing in his early 50's from lung cancer is a sad denouement to a life that had been broadcasting iconic when he simply told it the way it was from a little studio that let him speak effectively to his people about rights and pride. Over 10,000 attended his funeral in D.C., more than any non-elected person in the city's history. Petey would have been proud.

Cheadle and Ejinfor are indeed an amazing pair of performers. Just recently, I noticed that most of the praise has been going to Cheadle's great turn, but without Ejinfor, there is not much of a film. It's like having the two perfect halves that give us an amazing whole. Here is a movie that shows how determination and power can take you very far. It shows how loving what you like do can make a huge difference in this world. "Talk to Me" makes us revisit a difficult period in American life, a time when society needed to reinvent itself in order to improve and heal. Cheadle shows how some new links needed to be established, and with the help of a visionary but uptight manager, he would reach remarkable heights. Part of the charm of the movie is how appealing and refreshing Cheadle's performance is. His Pete Green is not without flaws, yet he has the knack for connecting with real people, a fact that is recognized by those around him. However ambition can foil the best of dreams, and there are moments in "Talk to Me" when it is very painful to realize that maybe not all dream can come true. "Talk to Me" can move you without getting too sentimental, can make you think without sounding too preachy, and can teach a lesson by having you listen. It's a remarkable cinematic experience.

Don Cheadle plays Ralph Waldo 'Petey' Greene and ex-con who became a DJ in Washinton in the 1960's who was known for "telling it like it is". Thats about it. Thats about the excitement level of the film. To be certain the film deals with social change and the relationship between Petey, his girl, the station manager and the world, but its completely uninvolving. I didn't care what happened mostly because I kind of could guess where it was going. Cheadle turns in his usual note perfect "why doesn't this man have an Oscar" performances, but thats all there is. Its Cheadle and only Cheadle in this totally forgettable biopic. Wait for cable

TALK TO ME (2007) *** Don Cheadle, Chiwtel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson, Martin Sheen, Cedric the Entertainer, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Mike Epps. (Dir: Kasi Lemmons) Cheadle Sparkles in Biopic Don Cheadle is perhaps the most underrated best actor of his generation giving it all in every film performance and not getting the true props and recognition for his craft of versatility. Perhaps this, one of his best roles to date, will change perspectives overall. Cheadle plays ex-con Petey Greene, a street-smart smoothie, attempting to go legit by looking up a fellow prisoner's brother, Dewey Hughes (Ejiofor also giving an excellent turn), an uptight Washington, DC radio programming manager on the rise who is at a crossroads himself in the hope for bigger and brighter things in a broadcasting career he aspires to. When Petey arrives, all hell breaks loose, with genuine concern expressed by Dewey's boss E.G. Sonderling (Sheen) who has given him the daunting task of making the station a more viable form of entertainment for its dwindling listening in audience. Dewey reluctantly sees inspiration in the foul-mouthed Greene and recruits him only after a series of arguments, insults and a one-up-manship in a game of pool reducing Greene to his basics: a brother in need of a j-o-b. After a near disastrous opening show, Greene is given one more shot by a scheming Dewey (who locks out all the staff as Greene goes into his fast-talking no b.s. mode) with the gambit paying off to callers ringing the phones off the hook. In the interim, Dewey begins booking Greene on stand-up comic networking him into a local TV showcasing the controversial DJ and eventually to the top: a spot on "The Tonight Show" in NYC. Director Lemmons deftly balances the prickly comedy with the genuine drama best depicted in the day Martin Luther King, Jr is assassinated and having Petey shine in his finest hours telling it like it is and uniting the city from the firestorms and rioting in the streets. She has a good command for her actors allowing each one to shine like the formidably funny and fierce Henson as Petey's vulgar yet golden-hearted hoochie mama. Overall the acting is solid and on the money, again with Cheadle and Ejiofor showing deft acting chops with versatility of drama and comedy. The only flaw in the otherwise fine screenplay by Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa is you never get the full story on this larger than life character who has something of a kindred spirit with the late, great Richard Pryor yet the film manages to push on with his sadly limited life (Greene succumbed to cancer in the mid'80s). The gift of gab has never been so enjoyable.

I was disappointed by the end of this movie. I'd never heard of Petey Greene but the little core info I got from reading between the cartoon lines of this movie leads me to believe he was an important figure with a sizable contribution to his community. For some reason they chose to tell this story in over dramatized cartoon style, all it was missing was the laugh track to tell us when the jokes were. So many scenes reeked of "enhanced for movie" to the point of disbelief. If you know anything about how a radio station works then you'll know the whole part about how he gets his first and second chances on air are completely dreamed up for dramatic effect. They never demonstrated why he was a good voice for the people or why he resonated so well with them. obviously it wasn't just because he could talk sh!t. Missing that background it became hard to care about this person who was obviously an important person in Washington's history and really just undermined Petey Greene's story, making this movie read like another cliché black guy from the projects makes good movie instead of the interesting and multi layered real story it pretends to tell. This movie was entertaining enough but it didn't do Petey or his story justice in the slightest. You could say "well what do you expect from Hollywood", but we live in hope that Hollywood will respect the intelligence of its audience and let an interesting story tell itself without having to polish it and paint it in cliché primary colors. What a waste.